C'hje Siluer Series of Language Books 




fiR§r Steps 

NGLISH 



By 
Albert IeRoyBarj'le:''' 



ilLVER.BURDETT & CoflPANY 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

TBi^^ — ■ 

Chap. Copyright No. 

Shelf 1^.2^5) 2> 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



%■ I ^Q OCT 9 tP^r 




F. Dvorak. 



THE JOY OF THE MORNING. 



The Silver Series of Language Books 



First Steps in English 



Albert LeRoy Bartlett, A.M. 




-•».<■*- v%r.^. 



SILVER, BURDETT AND COMPANY 
New York . . . BOSTON . . . Chicago 
1899 
l_ 







r ^ 



t^'\ 



43635 



Copyright, i8gg 
By Silver, Burdett and Company 



Vv^O COPIES HEC 



ElV t-13. 



•EOMDOO^t 







Plimpton ^vcss 

H. M, PLIMPTON &. CO., PRINTERS &. BINDERS, 
NORWOOD, MASS., U.S.A. 



^^^ TO THE TEACHEES WHO USE THIS BOOK. 



5 The work in language in the earlier years is done in a 

1^ somewhat broad and diversified field. It begins in the lowest 
? primaiy grades with the little finger-plays and play-stories ; 
it comprehends the stories told to the children, and their 
reproduction of these stories ; it tactfully corrects the errors 
that are bred in out-of-school associations, and inculcates the 
habits of grammatical speech ; it makes a beginning within 
simple lines of the written work that, later, grows into the 
more formal compositions; and it plants the seed — scarcely 
more than that — that shall ripen in the child's mind under 
later direction into a knowledge of the grammar of the Eng- 
lish language. 

The teacher's, fitness for the work of making *l^hguage a 
Land Beautiful and Charming must arise largely from her 
« being endowed with the graces of tact, sympathy, and pa- 
tience — that patience that plants, waters, and then hopefully 
trusts and expects each seed to spring up, become a stalk, 
and bear the rich wheat-head. 

The mission of the text-book is to be a hand-servant to 
the teacher; to furnish a series of lessons and exercises Avith 
a definite aim, a progression, a well-preserved balance between 



TO THE TEACHERS WHO USE THIS BOOK. 



the several divisions, and a final attainment — in short, to sup- 
ply good seed for the sowing. 

I have sought to write an elementary lesson book, of which 
each part shall be pure, bright, interesting, and inspiring, 
having as a foundation of whatever is to be taught, simple 
sentences and groups of sentences that in themselves teach 
something, and that appeal to the interests of children, arouse 
their powers of observation, and implant honor, courtesy, and 
love. Practice in talking upon worthy themes, abundant exer- 
cise in simple sentence building, when the sentence must con- 
tain some worthy thought, and daily written' work of some 
kind upon the board or on the practice paper — these are the 
stepping-stones to correct and graceful speech. The using of 
each new lesson not only to teach new principles but also to 
review those that have been taught previously will strengthen 
the practice of such speech into its habitual use. Much that 
the book suggests will form themes for original lessons by 
the teacher, while the definitions and principles which are 
italicized — and which should be memorized finally — will form 
a sure foundation for the more purely technical grammar 
that the child Avill study in the higher grades. Each lesson 
in this hook should he studied hy the pupils with the teacher, and 
only after the child has thoroughly comprehended what it teaches 
should he he required to memorize any part of it. 

The selections for memory, which have been made with 
much care, are chosen in the belief that they should be melo- 



TO THE TEACHERS WHO USE THIS BOOK. 



dious and of liigli literary value, and should contain some 
message of cheer that will sing on in the heart as well as in 
the mind in all the coming days of life. 

Much use has been made of simple yet exact teachings 
about flowers and birds and the little animals, because I 
believe with the author of " The Making of Matthias " : " The 
skies and the flowers, the winds and the stars — they are of 
God and they carry God's message. That is life — to love all 
that God has made. Love every flower, and every tree, and 
the birds and beasts ; hurt nothing, and respect everything, 
for love is God." 

Albert LeRoy Bartlett. 

Silver Hill, 

HAVERmLL, Massachusetts. 




TO THE OHILDEEK 



There is nothing that we use so constantly as language. 
As soon as we awaken in tlie morning we begin to talk to our 
mothers or fathers, or to our sisters and brothers. We talk 
with our companions on the way to school ; we talk while recit- 
ing our lessons in school ; we talk on the way home ; and at 
home we chatter and talk until sleeptime comes again. All day 
long thoughts keep arising in our minds, and we wish to let 
others know these thoughts. And how many things we talk 
about ! The pets at home, the flowers and sights along the 
way, the lessons at school — hundreds of things daily interest 
us, arouse our thoughts, and become subjects for talk with our 
friends. 

Do animals talk ? Do they convey their thoughts to their 
companions ? Does your dog ever ask you for something to 
eat ? Does he ever tell you that he should be very happy, 
indeed, to walk with you ? Does he tell you that he is glad to 
see you when you get home from school ? Well, how does he 
tell you these things ? By signs, I think. If you and I, how- 



TO THE CHILDREN. 



ever, had to let others know our thoughts by signs, we could 
not say the hundredth part of what we do now, and life would 
not be nearly so full of gladness and joy as it is. For it is one 
of the greatest pleasures of life to talk with our friends, to hear 
the dear voices of our fathers and mothei's, to tell them the 
things that interest us, and to listen to their pleasant words 
of comfort and cheer when anything troubles us. 

Since God has given us this wonderful power of talking, we 
ought always to use it carefully and rightly. We ought to say 
things that are helpful and kind, and to use the power of speech 
to make ourselves better and wiser ; but we ought also to learn to 
speak in such ways as the best educated people have decided is 
most correct and beautiful. And this is the object of our 
studying language — to learn to speak and write the English 
language correctly and gracefully — and to gain this object is 
worth all the study and all the patience that we may have to 
give to it. 



The selections from works j^ublished by Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Little, 
Brown d^ Co., and D. Appleton & Co., are used by the kind permissio7i of 
these firms and by special arrangement with them. 



CONTENTS. 



INTRODUCTIONS : 

To THE Teachers who Use this Book 
To the Children .... 



I. 

II. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 



VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

XI. 

XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 



XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX. 



The Sentence 

Some Punctuation Marks 

Sentences for Dictation 

The Statement, or Declarative Sentence 

A Story for Conversation and Oral Reproduction 

The Question, or Interrogative Sentence 

Sentences for Dictation 

Selection : ' ' Who paints with gold the wayside weeds 

—A. L. B. 
The Answers to Questions 
Sentences for Dictation 
The Command, or Imperative Sentence 
The Exclamatory Sentence 

Review 

Words : Words that Name 
Individual Names, or Proper Names 
A Lesson from a Picture . 
Selections : A Wish. — A. L. B. 

A Child's Thought of God. —Elizabeth Bar- 
rett Browning. 

The Daisy and its Relatives 

The Days of the Week 

Sentences for Dictation 

The Months 

Selections : " Thirty Days hath September." 

October's Bright Blue Weather. — Helen Hunt 
Jackson. 



PAGE 
5 



17 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 



26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
31 
32 
34 



38 
89 
40 
41 



COXTUyTS. 



11 



LBSSON 

XX. 
XXI. 

XXII. 
XXIII. 
XXIV. 

XXV. 
XXVI. 

XXVII. 

XXVIII. 

XXIX. 

XXX. 



XXXI. 

XXXII. 
XXXIII. 
XXXIV. 

XXXV. 
XXXVI. 



XXXVII. 

XXXVIII. 

XXXIX. 

XL. 

XLI. 

XLII. 

XLIII. 



XLIV. 



How TO Write Dates 

The Names of People, and How to Write Them 
Titles, and How to Write Them 

Reyiew^s 

Number : Singular and Plural 

Subject and Predicate 

Subject and Predicate— continued 

The xlpis Mellifica Family. 
Daisies, by Frank Dempster Sherman 

Is and Are 

Was and Were 

Reyiew 

Selection : To the Fringed Gentian.— William Cullen 

Bryant. 
Is, Are ; Was, Were ; Has, and Have, w^ith Not 
Story : The Daisy and the Lark, 

Some Other Contractions 

Sentences for Dictation 

A Story from a Picture 

A Piper and a Pair of Nutcrackers. 

Words that Express Action 

Words that Describe 

Selection : ' ' Good-night, little shivering grasses. '" — Ethel 
Lynn Beers. 

I, You, He, She, and It 

We, You, and They 

Sentences for Dictation . . . . . 
Selection : A Song.— Charles Kingsley. 

The, a. and An 

Selection : Child's Song in Spring.— E. Nesbit. 

The Haughty Weathervane 

Some Forms of the Verb 

The Verb Do 

Selections : ' ' Whichever Way the Wind Doth Blow. "— 
Caroline A. Mason. 
' ' The Year's at the Spring. "—Robert Brown- 
ing. 
Review Exercises 



45 
46 

47 
48 
49 
51 
53 

55 
56 
57 

58 



61 

64 
65 
67 

68 
70 



72 
73 

75 

77 

79 
81 
83 



86 



13 



CONTENTS. 



LESSON 

XLV. 

XLVI. 

XLVII. 

XLVIII. 

XLIX. 

L. 

LI. 

LII. 
LIII. 

LIV. 
LV. 

LVI. 

LVII. 

LVIII. 

LIX. 

LX. 



LXI. 



LXII. 

LXIII. 

LXIV. 

LXV. 

LXVI. 
LXVII. 



LXVIII. 

LXIX. 

LXX. 



ES 



OR 



A Letter . . 

The Heading of a Letter 

The Salutation 

The Close of a Letter 

The Form of a Letter 

The Addressing of Envelopes 

A Story from a Picture . 

The Spilled Ink. 
Nouns that Become Plural by Adding 
The Plural Form of Some Nouns Ending in 

"fe" 

The Plural Form of Nouns Ending in "y" . 
A Lesson from a Story 

The Pied Piper of Hamelin. 

Two Business Letters 

Forms of Nouns that Denote Possession 
Possessive and Plural Forms .... 
How TO Write Direct Quotations . 
How TO Write Direct Quotations — continued 
Selection from " Little Lord Fauntleroy . "— 

Hodgson Burnett. 
Selection : Santa Glaus.— Anon. 

How TO Write Titles 

Selection : The Song- of the Seeds in the Spring-. - 

Nesbit. 
A Story for Reproduction 

The Magic Caskets. 
The Regular Comparison of Adjectives . 
The Regular Comparison of Adjectives— continued 
Sentences Illustrating the Regular Comparison of 

Adjectives 

The Irregular Comparison of Adjectives 
Words that Tell How, Where, and When 
Selection : "Over valley, over hill."— Frank Dempster 

Sherman. 
The Regular Comparison of Adverbs .... 

Relation Words, or Prepositions 

Prepositions— continued 



-Frances 



-E 



135 
136 
137 



CONTENTS. 



13 



LESSON' 

LXXI. 

LXXII. 

LXXIII. 

LXXIV. 

LXXV. 
LXXYI. 

LXXVII. 



LXXVIII. 
LXXIX. 

LXXX. 

LXXXI. 

LXXXII. 

LXXXIII. 
LXXXIV. 

LXXXV. 



Connection Words, or Conjunctions .... 

The Conjunction— continued 

Emotion Words, or Interjections 

A PoE3i, WITH Written Exercises Upon It . . . 

Daybreak.— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 
The Possessive Form of Personal Pronouns . 
The Possessive Form of Personal Pronouns— con- 
tinued 

The Objective Form of Personal Pronouns . 
Selection : ' ' God does not send us strange flowers every 

year.'' — Adeline D. T. Whitney. 
Forms of the Personal Pronoun after the Verb Be. 
A Poem for Study and Memory 

The Nest. — James Russell Lowell. 

Who, Whose, and Whom 

This and That ; These and Those . . . . , 
A Poem for Memory and a Lesson Thereon . 

Good-Bye, Sweet Day I— Celia Leighton Thaxter. 

The Lion and the Lark 

A Lesson from a Picture 

The Capitol and the Flag. 
A Selection for Remembrance 

Stanzas from "At School -Close.'' — John Greenleaf 
Whittier. 



INDEX 



PAGE 

139 
140 
142 
144 

146 

147 
149 



150 
152 

154 
157 
159 

1.61 
163 

167 



170 



ILLUSTEATIONS. 



The Joy of the Morning ... 

Purple Asters and Fall Dandelions . 
An Apple-Blossom and its Parts . 
An Apple, Showing the Seed Arrangement 
The Cardinal Flower .... 
The Daisy and its Parts .... 

The Pet Bird 

The Daisy and Its Relatives . 

An October Scene 

Daisies of the Field and Sky 
The Fringed Gentian .... 
Portrait of William Cullen Bryant . 
The Daisy and the Lark .... 
A Piper and a Pair of Nutcrackers . 

White Birches 

The Weathervane 

Cherry-Blossoms 

The Spilled Ink 

The Pied Piper of Hamelin 

Santa Claus 

Morning Glories 

Woodbine and Poison Ivy 

Daybreak 

Portrait of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 

The Nest 

Portrait of James Russell Lowell 
The Capitol at Washington . 

Old Glory 

Portrait of John Greenleaf Whittier 
Poppies . . . . . 



The colored illustrations are by Miss Annie Butterfield 



Frontispiece. 



17 

20 

23 

26 

28 

35 

38 

43 

55 

56 

61 

63 

66 

78 

79 

89 

100 

107 

120 

124 

139 

144 

145 

152 

153 

163 

165 

167 

168 



FIRST STEPS m J]NGLISH. 



In the Garden of Speech — and every man shapes 
and tills his own — the tall, fragrant lilies are the 
words of hope and cheer, and the heart-red roses are 
the words of love and sympathy, and the sweet, 
humble flowers — violets and pansies and forget- 
me-nots — are the words of peace and comfort and 
remembrance. If there are weeds there — stinging 
nettles and harsh tfjistles and growths that are 
rank and poisonous — they are the words of anger 
and evil that crowd and crush and starve the 
flowers of beauty. Happy is that one who so 
shapes and tills his own garden that no noxious 
weed may live, and only the flowers of fragrance 
and grace and glory may bloom therein to glad- 
den and sweeten the world. 



FIRST STEPS m ENGLISH. 



LESSON I. 



The Sentence. 




1. 

2^ 

3. 

4. 
5. 
6. 

7. 



Here are two fall flowers. 

Do you know their names ? 

Notice their beautiful colors. 

How much alike in form they are ! 

They are ]Durple asters and fall dandelions. 

September is called the harvest month. 

AYhat fruits ripen in September ? 



This beautiful month in ^vhich we beo:in school ao^ain, has 
given me some thoughts which I have made you kno^v by 



18 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

means of language. Tliree of these tlioiiglits (1, 5, G) tell you 
souiething ; two (2, 7) are in tlie form of questions; one (3) 
bids you do something ; one (4) expresses Avonder or surprise. 
Everything that I have said to you is a complete tliought ; 
that is, it tells you of Just what I Avas thinking. 

Words do uot form complete thoughts unless they tell 
you something, ask you something, bid you do something, or 
ex]^)ress strong feeling about something. 

76- eacli of tlie follow i mj (froups of words a complete tliought f 

a. The fall dandelion. e. AYill you — ? 

h. is yellow. /. How wonderful — ! 

c. The fall dandelion is yellow, g. Do not — . 

d. Will you not bring me a hunch of purple asters ? 

If any of these are not complete thoughts, please add words to them to 
make them such. 

Language is used to convey tliongliU from one person to 
another, either hy speaking^ by iviit'ug^ or in print. 

A sentence is the expression of a complete thought. 

]\[ake sentences about vacation: school: antniun : sometliing that is 
green; something that is ripe; something that /?/^8 ; swims; hops. 

A Thought. 
'^ Little by little all tasks are done ; 
So are the crowns of the faithful won — 
So is heaven in our hearts begun." 



A LESSOX FOR CONVERSATION. 19 

LESSON 11. 
Some Pimcttiatioii Marks. 

Learn : 

The Period (.). The Comma (,). 

The Iiiterrog:atiou Point {(). The Exehimation Point (!). 

By wliieli of these marks were the sentences in Lesson L, 
that tohl you sometliini;-, folk) wed i the one that bade you do 
something I the ones tliat asked questions I the one that ex- 
pressed strong feeling \ 

AVrite a sentence that telLs something about September. 

Write a question about grapeii. 

AYrite a sentence that bids me do something witli some golden-rod. 

Write a sentence that expresses admiration of the color of the sky. 

A Liessou for Conversation. 

This uiorning I found a delicate lace mat on the grass. It 
Avas made of the finest silken threads. Every thread was 
hung with diamonds. Ho^\' they sparkled in the sunlight ! 
The little spinner of the mat was there, too. 

Do you know ^vhat the lace mat Avas i Do you think it was 
fairy lace? Do you think a heautiful faii'y spun '\i i Can you 
guess who the spinner Avas i 

By and l)y tlie diamonds were stolen from the threads. 
Who hung the diamonds on the threads i Who stole them 
away i How wonderful a spinner tlie is ! What spark- 
ling jewels the hangs on the grass ! 



20 



FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



LESSON III. 



Sentences for Dictation. 




\ 



Note : Have on the board an enlarged picture of an apple 
blossom, showing its parts. Have also a ripe apple. In order 
to get the children to express thoughts freely, talk with them 
about the change from the blossom to the ripe fruit. After 
the conversation the pupils should reproduce orally what has 
been told them, keeping the thoughts in proper sequence. 

Spell : 

apple blossom petals 

rosy l)lossomed sepals 

Write from dictation: 

1. When did the apple trees blossom ? 

2. The apple trees blossomed in May. 

3. What became of the blossoms ? 

4. The pink petals fell oif. 

5. The green cnp became a rosy apple. 

6. Find the flower sepals on the ripe apple. 

7. How brown and dry they are ! 



a 



i> 



■:y 




THE STATEMENT, OB. DECLARATIVE SENTENCE. 21 

LESSON IV. 
The Statement, or declarative Sentence. 

1. I saw an apple orchard. 

2. The red apples amid the green 
leaves looked beautiful. 

3. The farmer was picking the ap- 
ples and piling them in rosy heaps upon 
the ground. 

4. Afterwards he will assort the apples, and put the better 
and the poorer into separate barrels. 

5. Some of this fruit he will send across the ocean to 
E norland. 

Each of these sentences tells you something. It is a state- 
ment about somethino:. 

With what kind of a letter does each of these sentences 
begin ? What punctuation point follows each statement ? 

A statement, or declarative sentence, is a sentence that 
states or tells something, 

A statement, or declarative sentence, begins ivitJi a capital 
letter and is followed hy a period. 



22 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



Make a statement about each of the following things : 

a. the sun d. the rain g. the dew 

b. peaches e. grapes It. pears 

c. birds /. bees i. children 

Write as many of these original statements as time may permit. 

What is a sentence? a, declarative sentence? Wit/i ivliat kind of a 
letter must a declarative sentoice begin? What punctuation point must 
folloiu it ? 

LESSON V. 
A Story for Conversation and Oral Reproduction. 

One beautiful May nioruiug a little girl sat uuder a blossom- 
ing apple tree, se^ving on some woi'k that lier mother had given 
her. ''Oh, you sweet apple blossoms," she said aloud, "how 
happy you must be ! You do not have to work." 

There was a fluttering and a whispering for some time 
among the leaves and the blossoms. Then the sweetest and 
prettiest blossom bent down to the little girl. " Dear child," 
it said, " we are happy because we do work. We work to make 
the world sweet with perfume, and then our good friends, the 
bees, visit us often, and ^ve must prepare honey and bee-bread 
for them. But, best of all, dear little girl, we have some 
precious nestlings in a little green nest. We must feed them 
and make the nest soft and thick to protect them. You cannot 
see them now, but sometime, when they are fully grown, you 



THE QUESTION, OR INTERROGATIVE SENTENCE. 23 



may open the nest and find them. But then the nest will have 
grown rosy-cheeked and sweet, and — you may have it to eat ! 
Oh, indeed we work ! We are very happy to work." 






Subjects for conversation : Why the bees visit the flowers. 

Why the flowers are fragrant and bright. What bee-hread is., 

and where it is obtained. What the little nestlings and the little 

green nest are, and into ivhat the nest grows. The pleasure of 

warh. 

What title shall we give to this story f 

LESSON VI. 
The Question, or Interrogative Sentence. 

1. Do you know why the aster is so called ? 

2. Of what color is the fall dandelion ? 

3. Can you name any other flowers of the same color ? 

4. How many petals has the apple blossom ? 

5. Has it the same number of sepals ? 

Each of these sentences asks you something. It is a ques- 
tion about something. 



34 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

With what kiud of a letter does each of these sentences 
begin ? What punctuation mark follows it ? 

A question, or interrogative sentence, is a sentence that 
asks a question, 

A question, or interrogative sentence, begins with a capital 
letter, and is followed by an interrogation point. 

Use the following loords in interrogative sentences : 

a. purple d. grow g. roadside 

b. flowers c. fragrant h. sing 

c. clonds /. shower i. city 

With what kind of a letter do you begin a declarative or an interroga- 
tive sentence ? What punctuation point follows a declarative sentence ? 
an interrogative sentence ? What statements do you find in. this lesson ? 
what interrogative sentences other than those that are numbered ? What 
other name is there for an interrogative sentence ? for a statement ? 



LESSON VII. 
Sentences for JDictation, 

Spell: 

aster flower dandelion named tooth 

1. The word aster means star. 

2. What part of the flower is like the rays of a star ? 

3. What does the word dandelion mean ? 

4. It means the tooth of a lion. 



SENTENCES FOR DICTATION. 



25 



5. Why is the plant so called ? 

6. Its leaf is like the tooth of a lion. 

Selection for 7nemory or copying. 




Who paints with gold the roadside weeds, 

The waving golden-rod ? 
Who clothes with gladness all the meads 

Where purple asters nod ? 
Who tints the sky with softest blue ? 

Who scents September's air ? 
Who sends the night mists to bedew 

The grass with jewels rare ? 
Oh, every flower in beauty clad, 

Upspringing from the sod, 
And every blade, and every breeze, 

Whispers in answer, " God." 

—A. LeR. B. 



Note : In all copying of selections exactness should be insisted 
upon ; exactness in spelling, in the use of capitals, in punctuation, and 
in arrangement. 

In poetry every line begins with a capital letter. 
Every name hy which we speah of God or of Jesus Christ 
begins with a capital letter. 



26 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



LESSON VIII. 
The Answers to Questions. 

1. Harry, do you know the cardinal 

flower ? 
Yes, Miss Fall, it is a bright red 
flower. 

2. Where have 3^ou found 

it, Harry? 

I have found it in 
marshy places. 
8. Can you tell me, Mary, when 
it is ill bloom ? 

I think. Miss Fall, that it blos- 
soms late in August, and early in September. 

What kinds of sentences have we above ? In 
what kind of sentences do we answer (questions ? 
Would " Yes;' or ''No;' be a sentence? Why? 
When the name of a person to whom you speak 
is used in a sentence, what punctuation mark is 
placed after it when other words follow it ? What ^punctuation 
mark follows the words that precede it ? 

77? written sentences yes and no are always followed hy a 
comma. 





SENTENCES FOR DICTATION. 27 

The name of the person to whom you speak is always 
separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma or commas. 

Study the use of commas in the model sentences. 

Copy the model sentences, using the name of your teacher in place 
of Miss Fall, and of some boy or girl in the class instead of Harry and 
Mary. 

LESSON IX. 
Sentences for Dictation. 

Review by questions the use of language^ the sentence^ the 
declarative sentence, the interrogative sentence, how to use yes and 
no and the name of the person addressed in answering questions, 
the use of the period, the interrogation point, the comma, and the 
capital letter at the beginning of a sentence. 

Spell : 

cardinal beautiful brooks people 

country across Frenchmen brilliant 

growing together robes color 

Write from dictation : 

1. The cardinal flower loves to grow on the banks of gentle 
brooks. 

2. Do you think that it likes to see its face in the water ? 

3. Perhaps so, Miss , it is so beautiful a flower. 

4. Shall I tell you a story, children, about this flower ? 

5. A long time ago, when people first came to this country 



28 



FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



from across tlie gi'eat ocean, some Frenchmen found this 
brilliant flower growing beside the brooks. There were so 
many flowers, and they grew so close together, that they looked 
like a bright red robe. They named it the cardinal flower, 
because cardinals wore robes of this coloi*. They sent some of 
the blossoms to their old home in France, to show the people 
there how beautiful the flowers in the New World w^ere. 

The spelling words may be put in original oral sentences, either ques- 
tions, answers, or simple statements. 




LESSON X. 

The Coinmaiicl, or Imperative 
Senteuce. 

1. Take this daisy, Fred. 

2. Break it apart, down through 
its yellow heart. 

3. Notice the little tubes that make 
up this yellow heart. 

4. Take one of these tubes, and 
look at it carefully. 

5. Examine one of the white outer petals also. 
Each of these sentences hids or requests you to do 

something. Notice how these sentences differ from 
those that state something. Do they tell something, 
or tell you to do something ? Do they ask questions ? 







H 



ow 



THE EXCLAMATORY SENTENCE. 29 

do they differ from declarative sentences? from interrogative 
sentences I 

With what kind of a letter does each of these sentences 
begin ? What punctuation mark follows each ? 

A coniiuaiid, oi^ imperative sentence, is one that bids 
or requests you to do something, 

A command^ or imperative sentence^ begins with a capital 
letter^ and is followed by a period. 

Use imperative sentences, gi^^hig them orally or writing them, to tell 
your classmates how to find a selection in the reader ; to direct them to 
some place in the neighborhood ; to tell them how to treat pets ; to tell 
them how to draw some figure on the board ; to tell them how to behave 
in school. 

LESSON XI. 
The Exclamatory Sentence. 

1. How swiftly the summer has passed ! 

2. What a change has come to the a2:>ple tree since last 
May ! 

3. How we should miss the apple blossoms in the spring, 
and the apple-fruit in the fall ! 

4. AVhat beautiful gifts each season brings us ! 

5. How happy and good we ought to be ! 

Sometimes our thoughts are not statements, or questions, or 
commands. They are thoughts of something that surprises us, 



30 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

or delights us, or, perhaps, grieves us. These thoughts we 
express in sentences called exclaniatory sentences. 

The preceding numbered sentences are exclamatory sen- 
tences. AVith what kind of a letter does each begin ? What 
punctuation point follows it ? 

A71 exclamatory sentence is one that expresses strong feel- 
ing^ such as surprise^ delight ^ admiration^ sorrow^ contempt^ and 
anger. 

An exclamatory sentence begins with a capitcd letter^ and is 
followed by an exclamation point. 

Give orally or write exclamatory sentences about the color of some 
flower ; the fragrance of some flower ; the beauty of some animal ; some 
interesting story ; some kind deed ; the intelligence of the dog ; the 
swiftness of the horse. 

Give exclamatory sentences using the words : 

a. pretty c. bird's nest e. kindness 

b. sky d. ma})le tree /. elephant 

LESSON XII. 
Review. 

AVhat is the use of language ? Why ought Ave to be careful 
to use language correctly ? What is a sentence ? How many 
kinds of sentences are there ^ Name them. What punctuation 
points may follow sentences i After yes and 710 in sentences, 
what punctuation point is used? How is the name of the ]3er- 
son to whom you speak separated from the rest of the sentence ? 



WORDS: WORDS THAT NAME. 31 

Wlmt is a declarative sentence i What is an interrogative 
sentence ] AVhat is an imperative sentence ? What is an ex- 
clamatory sentence l What kind of a sentence is used to 
answer questions? to ask questions? to request you to do some- 
thing ? to bid you do something ? to express strong feeling ? 

Study any selection in a reading-book, to notice that only the period, 
the interrogation point, and the exclamation point, mark the end of a 
complete thought. Notice that each sentence begins with a capital letter. 
Notice any illustration in the selection, of any fact that has been taught 
about the writing of sentences. 

Select some story from the reading-book, and read in order, each pupil 
one sentence, stating with what kind of a letter it begins, what punctua- 
tion point follows it, what kind of a sentence it is, and any other fact 
that has been taught, which may be found illustrated in the sentences of 
the story. 

Select from the previous lessons such sentences for dictation as may 
illustrate dilferent principles that have been taught. 



LESSON XIII. 
Words : Words that Name. 

When we wish to convey our thoughts to someone else, we 
have many little helpers ready to do what we wish. These 
little helpers are called words. But they do not all help us in 
the same way. As we study language we shall learn that they 
serve us in eight different ways. So we group all words into 
eight different classes called pa/rts of speech. 



32 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

We always talk about something — flowers, birds, persons, 
things at home, things in the schoolroom, and many other 
things : and one very important class of words is name-words — 
words that name the things about which ^ve talk. Word-names 
have a name, too, for we call them nouns. 

A noun is a word that names. 

Write on the board: 

a. Five names of people. 

h. Five names of objects in the I'oom. 

c. Five names of things at home. 

d. Five names of things that you saw on the way to school. 

e. Five names of different kinds of animals. 

In the story in Lesson V., find Avords that name. 

What help ns to convey our thoughts ? In how many ways do they 
help us ? Into how many classes do Ave group them ? What do Ave call 
these classes ? What do Ave call Avords that name ? What is a noun ? 



LESSON XIV. 
Iiidi vidua! Names, or Proper Names. 

If I Avish some girl to come to my desk, how shall I make 
you knoAV Avhich girl I Avish ? How do I distinguish you from 
one another when I Avish you to recite ? When I speak of you ? 
Carl, Fred, Ernest, Harold (using the names of the boys in the 
class), — these are the names of Avhat ? Grace, Marion, Celia, 



INDIVIDUAL NAMES, OR PROPER NAMES:" 33 

Rosamonde (using the names of girls iu the class), — these are 
the names of what ? 

Here are the names of some chikiren I know : 

Margaret, Mary, Harry, and Joe, 
Dorothy, Katherin^ — here my list ends. 

Please tell me the names of your own little friends. 

Individual names are the names of single pei'sons or things. 
Above are the names of persons ; but states, cities, towns, streets, 
schools, rivers, hills, lakes, and many other objects, have indi- 
vidual names. 

An individual name is called a proper noun. It is always 
begun with a capital letter. 

Write your own individual name ; that of the city or town in which 
you live ; that of some river^ lake, or ocean near it ; that of some street ; 
that of some hill. 

Write fro7n dictation : 

a. My name is — . c. I live on — street. 

1). I attend the — school. d. This school is on — street. 

e. Herbert. Edward, and Marion sail their boats on Merry pond. 

/. How wide the Hudson river seems ! 

g. The White Mountains have put on their snowy caps. 

Draw a line under the proper nouns. What is a proper noun f 
3 



34 * FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



LESSON XV. 
A Lesson from a Picture. 

Let us work a little while before we tell the story of this 
beautiful picture. We have been talking about names. Do 
you see any objects in the picture that can have individual 
names ? What do you see that can talk ? What do you see 
that may have a proper name, but that cannot talk ? What 
name will you give to the older boy? to the little girl who 
leans on his shoulder ? to the little o:irl whose back is turned 
to you ? to the youngest of the children ? At what are they 
looking ? What will you name the bird ? 

Write these names on the board. What kind of nouns are 
they ? with what kind of a letter must each begin ? 

Now name all the things that you can see in the room. 
Write these names on the board, beginning each with a small 
letter. 

Each of these names is ^v^hat part of speech? 

A noun iJiat is not the name of cm individual person or thing 
is a common noun. 

Which of the names on the board are common nouns f 

In what are these children interested ? Is he a tame bird ? 
a pet bird ? What may we name our story ? Write the name 
of the story on the board. 




Meyer von Bremen. 



THE PET BIRD. 



36 FIRST STEPS m ENGLISH. 



Whose bird do you thiuk that he is 'i How do you think 
that they got him ? Where do they keep him l Do you think 
that they are kind to him 'i How (\o they make him so tame ? 
What is he doing now i Ho\v do you think that he repays 
them for their kindness ? Do you think that he sings to them 
each morning? 

Note : Let the children tell the story orally, each as his imagination 
leads him. Encourage them to tell the story at home to their parents. 
Encourage them to write each his story, but do not make it obligatory. 

After the story has been told by the children, call their attention to 
what they may have overlooked — the kind faces of the children, the 
quaint chairs, the little headdress of the older girl, the pretty window, 
the seat below it, and the knitting Avork that lies there. Lead them to 
see that they are not little American children, but that they live in some 
other land ; that they are fond of jjets, and kind and loving, just as good 
American children are. 

Show them, too, that the light in the picture seems to enter from the 
window, just as it does in a real room. Call their attention to the lights 
on the faces and furniture, and to the shadows in the room. 

A Wish. 

Within your hearts may heaven its gifts 

Of love and beauty fling ; 
And pure, sweet thoughts, like hajopy birds, 

Fly there, and nest, and sing. 



A P0E3I FOR AIPJ3I0RY. 37 



A Poem foi* Memory. 

A Child's Thought of God. 

They say that God lives very high ! 
But if yon look above the pines 
You cannot see our God. And why ? 

And if you dig down in the mines 

You never see Him in the gold, 

Though from Him all that's glory shines. 

God is so good, He wears a fold 

Of heaven and earth across His face — 

Like secrets kept for love untold. 

But still I feel that His embrace 

Slides down by thrills, through all things made, 

Through sight and sound of every place : 

As if my tender mother laid 
On my shut lids her kisses' pressure. 
Half waking me at night ; and said, 
" Who kissed you through the dark, dear guesser ? " 

— Elizabeth Barrett Browning. 



38 



FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



LESSON XVI 



A Story for Observation and Conversation. 




Do you know that flowers belong to families? Do you 
know that they have brothers and sisters and cousins, and more 
distant relatives ? Of course their brothers and sisters look quite 
like them, but sometimes their cousins look quite different, and 
their inore distant relatives look ver}' uidike them. The daisy 
that we see growing so abundantly belongs to tlie largest 
flower family in tlie Avorld. The yellow dandelion and the 
purple aster are its cousins, and the golden-i'od, that does not 
look like it at all, is a relative. 

See this daisy Avith its beautiful yellow center, and its outer 
di'ess of white leaves. How many flowers have we here (* One? 
Break the daisy o])en, right doAvn through its yellow heart. 
What do you And? You find that its yelloAV center is com- 
posed of a lot of little tubes, moi'e in number than you wish to 



THE DAYS OF THE WEEK. 39 



count. Every one of these little tubes is a flower. Yes, and 
the white petals that stand about it are each a flower, too. So 
we see that we have a host of flowers all bound together in Avhat 
we thought at first was one flower. 

Examine the dandelion and the purple aster, and you will 
find a lot of flowers clustering together in the same way. Per- 
haps you may find some other flowers that live in the same 
house in this way. Flowers whose blossoms are composed of 
many flowers thus clustered together belong to the Com-pos-i-tce 
family. 

Do you see why the family is so named ? I wonder if the 
clover-bloom belongs to this family? Do you know if the 
thistle is a relative ? 

LESSON XVII. 
The Days of the Week. 

What is the first day of the week ? What do people do on 
that day ? Write the name of this day on the board, beginning 
it with a capital letter. What is the second day of the week ? 
Tell something about Monday. Write the name of this day on 
the board. (Thus with the other days of the week.) 

When does Monday begin ? At what hour is it noon ? 
What do you call that part of the day in which the sun rises ? 
The part of the day before noon ? The part of the day that 
comes after noon ? The time of day after sunset ? The time 
when people sleep ? 



40 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

An abbreviation is a part of the word^ or its first letter , used 
for the whole word. 

A ijeriod must he placed after an ahhrtviation. 

Learn the abbreviations of the names of the days and of the 
divisions of a day that are given below : 

Sunday Sun. Monday ..... Mon. Tuesday . . Tues. 

Wednesday . . Wed. Thursday Thurs. Friday . . . Fri. 

Saturday Sat. 

morning morn. noon M. evening . . , .eve. 

forenoon A.M. afternoon . . P.M. 

The names of the days of the weeh are proper names^ and 
must always be begun with capital letters. The abbreviations 
of the words foi'enoon, noon, and afternoon, must be written with 
capitals^ as above. 

The w^ords night and midnight are not abbreviated. 



LESSON XVIII. 
Sentences for dictation. 

Spell: 
bright evening sunset glows goes to-day 

The marh connecting to and day is a hyphen. It is used to 
connect two words that form a compound word; as, to-day, 
to-morrow, golden-rod, morning-glory. 



THE 3I0NTHS. 41 



Head: 

Saturday, A.M. Friday, P.M. Thursday, M. 
Tuesday morn. Monday eve. 

Notice that a comma separates the name of the day from the 
abbreviations A.M., M., and P.M., but not from the abbreviations morn, 
and eve. 

Write from dictation: 

1. To-day is — , the — day of the week. 

2. May I come to see you on Wednesday ? 

3. How bright the evening star is ! 

4. From Sunday morn to Sunday morn be good and kind 
and true. 

5. The sunset glows as the sweet day goes. 

/<S' morn in the fourth sentence an abbreviation^ What reason for your 
answer 9 



LESSON XIX. 
The Months. 

How many months are there in the year? What is the 
first month ? In what month does Christmas come ? Thanks- 
giving day ? Memorial day ? Which is the shortest month in 
the year ? What are the spiing months ? the summer months ? 
the autumn months ? the Aviuter months ? 



42 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

Learn the names of the months in order ^ and the abbreviation 
of each: (It is not in best usage to abbreviate March, May, 
June, and July.) 

January . . Jan. February . . Feb. March 

April Apr. May June 

July August Aug. September . . Sept. 

October . . Oct. November . Nov. December Dec. 

The names of the months are proper nouns. With w^hat 
kind of a letter should each be begun ? AVhat is an abbrevia- 
tion ? What point follow^s every abbreviation ? With what 
kind of a letter should the abbreviation of a month begin ? 

What are the names of the four seasons of the year ? 
The names of the seasons do not hegi7i loith capital letters. 

Sentences for dictation : 

a. I was born in the month of — , and the season of — . 

h. February is the shortest month of the year. 

c. A golden haze overhangs the hills in September. 

d. I think that — is the most pleasant month of the year. 

Copy : 

Thirty days hath September, 

April, June, and November; 

All the rest have thirty-one, 

Excepting February alone. 

Which hath but twenty-eight, in fine. 

Till leap-year gives it twenty-nine. 



A POEM FOR 31EM0RY. 



43 



A Poem for Memory. 

Octobee's Bright Blue Weathee. 











O suns and skies and clouds of June, 
And flowers of June together, 

Ye cannot rival for one liour 
October's bright blue weather. 

When loud the bumble-bee makes haste, 
Belated, thriftless vagrant, 

And golden-rod is dying fast. 

And lanes with grapes are fragrant; 

When gentians roll their fringes tight 
To save them for the morning. 

And chestnuts fall from satin burrs 
Without a word of warning ; 

Copyright, 1886, by Koberts Brothers. 



44 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

When on the ground red apples lie 

In piles like jewels shining, 
And redder still on old stone walls 

Are leaves of woodbine twining ; 

When all the lovely wayside things 
Their white-winged seeds are sowing, 

And in the fields, still fair and green, 
Late aftermaths are growing ; 

When springs run low, and on the brooks, 

In idle golden freighting. 
Bright leaves sink noiseless in the hush 

Of woods, for winter waiting ; 

O suns and skies and flowers of June, 

Count all your boasts together, 
Love loveth best of all the year 

October's bright blue weather. 

— Helen Hunt Jackson. 

[Mrs. Helen Hunt Jackson, an American poet, born in 
Amherst, Massachusetts, October 18, 1831 ; died in San Fran- 
cisco, California, August 12, 1885.] 

Note : In all memory selections of which the name of the author is 
given, the name and the biographical note should be learned. 



HOW TO WRITE DATES. 45 



LESSON XX. 
How to Write Dates. 

1. Oil October 12, 1492, Columbus discovered America. 

2. George Washington was born February 22, 1732. 

3. Decoration Day is May 30. 

4. The first bluebird came on February 25. 

5. Boston, Massachusetts, June 24, 1899. 

We read the above dates, October twelfth, fourteen ninety- 
two ; February twenty-second, seventeen thirty -two ; May thir- 
tieth; February tw enty -fifth ; June twenty -fourth, eighteen 
ninety-nine. 

In dates, write first the mouthy then in figures the number of 
the day and of the year, a comma separating the number of the 
day from that of the year. • 

AYrite the following as dates : the first day of June, eighteen ninety- 
nine ; September thirteenth, eighteen eighty-three ; April twenty-seventh, 
eighteen nineteen ; your own birthday ; to-day. 

Write the name of your city or town, the state, and the date, like 
this model : 



yAyrUL 



i&qq. 



46 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

Write the name of your school, town, state, and the date, like this 
model : 



LESSON XXI. 
The Names of People, and How to Write Them. 

Miss Alcott wrote a delightful story about Beth, Joe, Meg, 
and Amy March. They were four sisters. What was the naroe 
of the family f What were the names that were given to the 
children ? 

The name of tlie family is the svirnaine ; tlie names given to 
different members of the family are called their given names. 

What was the surname of these children ? What were their 
given names ? Miss Alcott's name Avas Louisa May Alcott. 
What was her family name ? AVhat were her given names ? 
What was her middle name ? 

Alice Gary Mary Mapes Dodge 

Kate Douglas Wiggin John Ruskin 

Eugene Field Helen Hunt Jackson 

Which of these names are surnamex? Which are given 
names? Which are middle names? What is your family 



TITLES, AND HOW TO WRITE THEM. 47 

name ? your given name ? your middle name ? With what 
kind of a letter does each name begin ? 

Instead of writing the name in full, we often write only the 
first letter, or initial, of the given or middle name, thus : 

Louisa M. Alcott H. H. Jackson F. Bret Harte 

W/ien mi initial is written instead of the fnll name, it must 
he a capital letter and folloived hy a period. 

Write your own name in full. 

Write your own name, using an initial for the middle name. 

Note : Children should be taught always to write the first name in 
full. 



LESSON XXII. 
Titles, and How to Write Them. 

Notice these two ways of addressing a person : 

When we speak to a man whose family name is Alden, we 
address him as Mr. Alden. 

When we write to him, we address him Mr. John Alden. 

That is, we place a title of courtesy before his family name 
when \ve speak to him, and before his fall name, usually, when 
we write to him. 



48 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

Learn the following common titles^ and the abbreviation of 
each : 

Mister Mr. Mistress Mrs. (pronounced Mis-sez) 

Doctor Dr. Superintendent . . Supt. 

Reverend . . Rev. Honorable Hon. 

What is your father's name ? Write it on the board as I 
ought to address him in speaking. Write it as I ought to 
address him in writing. Write your mother's name in the 
same ways. 

Write from dictation : 

Mr. William Bradford Dr. Joseph Warren 

Mrs. Julia Ward Howe Supt. William T. Harris 

Miss Louisa M. Alcott Hon. WilHam H. Moody 

Master Walter West. Rev. Henry Parker 

Write your own name with the title Miss or Master before it ; the 
name of your teacher^ of your doctor, and of your clergyman, each with 
the proper title. 

Note : Pupils should be taught to read Rev. as the Reverend, and 
Hon. as tlce Honorable. 



LESSON XXIII. 
Reviews. 

What is a common noun ? Name five common nouns. 
What is a proper noun ? Give as proper nouns : the name 
of some poet, the name of some city, the name of some street, 



NUMBER: SINGULAR AXD PLURAL. 49 



the name of some body of water, the name of some state, the 
name of some church, the name of some school. 

Write the name of the fourth day of the week, of the second 
month, of the first half of the day, and of the last half of the 
day, each with its abbreviation. 

Write the name of your school, city, state, and the date. 

Mention fixe surnames ; ^yq given names of girls ; iive given 
names of boys. 

Name as many common titles as you may remember, and 
write each with its proper abbreviation on the board. 



Write from dictation : 

1. Rev. Charles Kingsley died January 23, 1875. 

2. Mrs. Mary Mapes Dodge lias written some pleasant stories. 

3. The teachers met Supt. Harris. 

4. How beautiful the Hudson river is ! 

5. My initials are . 

6. We should always place Dr. or Eev. before the written name of a 
man who is a doctor or a minister. 



LESSON XXIV. 
Xuniber: Siugiilar and Plural. 

On the desk is a book. Write the word hook on the board. 
I now put another book with it. We say that there are two — 
whatf I place another book with these. We sa}^ now that 



50 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH, 

there are ihvee—wliatf What do we add to the A\^oi*d hook to 
make it mean more than one ? Add that letter to the word on 
the board. Write on the board the words pencily desk^ pen, 
crayon, hoard. Add to each of these words that which will 
make it mean more than one. 

The iiiiniber of a word denotes that it means one or more 
than one. 

A word is of singular number ivhen it names or refers 
to one object. 

A word is of plural number when it names or refers to 
more than one ohject. 

Many nouns hecoine plural inform hy adding s to the singu- 
lar. 

In the following sentences find each noun, and tell of what number it 
is. If it is singular give its plural form, and if it is plural give its singu- 
lar form : 

a. The bobolink is going away. 

1). His dress for traveling is a plain brown suit. 

c. His three names are bobolink, reed-bird, and rice-bird. 

d. His nest in June was in a meadow where the grass was high. 

e. Buttercups and daisies were in the same meadow. 
/. The bees hum over these flowers. 

g. What cheerful little workers they are ! 
Ji. Is not the country beautiful in June ? 

Write the plural form of nest, meadow, buttercup, field, roMn, 

ATrite sentences using each of these Avords. 



SUBJECT AND PREDICATE. 



51 



LESSON XXV. 

Subject and Predicate. 

1. The nuts 

will soon be ripe. 

2. The chestnut burrs 

have satin linings. 

3. Jack Frost 

opens the burrs of the nuts. 

4. The squirrels 

gather them and store them away. 

5. Nuts 

are their food through the long winter. 

Notice the hreahs in these sentences. They are made to 
separate that about ivhich something is told from that which 
is told about it. About Avhat are we told something in the first 
sentence ? What are we told about them ? About what are 
we told something in the second sentence ? What are we 
told about them ? in the third sentence ? the fourth sentence ? 
the fifth sentence ? 




53 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH, 

Divide the following sentences into that about wliicli sometliing is told 
and that which is told about it. 

a. The witch-hazel shows its yellow flowers. 

i. The maple trees are already bright with color. 

c. The leaves ripen and drop from the branches. 

d. The dew upon the grass looks like drops of silver. 

e. The chestnuts escape from their satin burrs. 

^very sentence consists of two parts. 

Tlie subject of a sentence is tlictt about which something 
is stated. 

The predicate of a sentence is that ivhich is stated about 
the subject. 

Draw a vertical line between the subject and the predicate of each 
sentence that you have written, thus : 

Tlie robin \ sings a low, sweet song. 

Draw one line under the important word of the subject of each 
sentence, and two lines under the important word of each predicate, thus : 

The robin \ sings a low, sweet song. 

Note : Allow the class to consider the matter of subject and predicate 
until they comprehend the two parts of the sentence; that the noun is the 
important word of the subject; and that its number may affect the form 
of the important word in the predicate. For this drill select such sentences 
from the previous lessons as may be easily separated into subject and pred- 
icate, that contain a noun in the subject, and a verb that may be easily 
recognized as the principal word in the predicate. Allow the pupils to 
write these sentences, separating subject from predicate by vertical lines, 
and underlining the subject-noun and ^iredicate-verb. In all language 
worh use the blackboard freely, since the eye is the door to the mind. 



SUBJECT AND PREDICATE. 53 



LESSON XXVI. 
Subject ami Predicate, contiiivied. 

The daisy closes at iiiglit. 
The daisies close at iiio;ht. 

The primrose opens at night. 
The primroses open at night. 



3. The night moth loves to visit the primrose. 
The night moths love to visit the primrose. 



What is the subject of the first sentence in 1 ? What noun 
is a 23art of that subject? Is it of singular or plural number? 
What noun is a part of the subject of the next sentence ? Of 
what number is it ? Is any word in the predicate changed in 
form because the noun in the subject becomes plural ? Ex- 
amine the t^vo sentences under 2 in the same way ; the two 
sentences under 3. 

We shall learn that the subject and the predicate of a 
sentence have each an important word ; that the important 
word of the subject is a noun (or a word that takes the place 
of a noun — about whicli we shall learn later), and that the 
important word of the predicate is a part of speecli called the 
verb — about wliicli we shall learn later. 



54 FIRST STUPS IN ENGLISH. 

Write sentences like those above, about : 

a. The maple tree c. The little brook 
The maple trees The little brooks 

b. The chestnut d. A beautiful picture 
Chestnuts Beautiful pictures 

The Apis Mellifica Family. 

(For Study of Singular and Plural Forms, and of Subject and Predicate.) 

Under my soutli windows in February, a bed of golden 
crocuses bursts into bloom. The sun shines so warmly here 
that the crocuses wake up very early. When the day is 
very bright and warm, 1 hear a humming and a buzzing, and 
I say, "Are the flowers singing?" I look and see that the 
crocuses have a host of little visitors. The Honey Bee sisters 
have come to visit them. The Bee family lives a long, long 
distance away, on the other side of a high hill. The name of 
the family is Apis Mellifica. Isn't it an odd name ? It 
means Jioney 'making hee. The family is very lai*ge. Some- 
times sixty thousand live in one house, or hive. The brothers 
all stay at home. They are called drones. The sisters all go 
out to get food for the family. The honey bee that you see 
is Miss Apis Mellifica. She has more than twelve thousand 
eyes to see you with. She carries a little dagger — a sting — to 
defend herself with, but the poor little insect dies if she 
uses it. 



A SELECTION FOR COPYING AND MEMORY 



LESSON XXVII. 




A Selection for Copying and Memory 

Daisies. 

At evening wlieii I go to bed 
I see the stars shine overhead ; 
They are the little daisies white 
That dot the meado^vs of the night. 

And often, while I'm dreaming 

so, 
Across the sky the moon will 

go; 

It is a lady, sweet and fair, 
Who comes to gather daisies 
there. 



Foi', AvJien at morning I arise, 
There's not a star left in the 

skies ; 
She's picked them all, and 

dropped them down 
Into the meadows of the to^vn. 
—Frank Dempster Sherman. 



!■« 




56 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



LESSON XXVIII. 
"Is" and "Are." 

1. The fringed gentian is an autumn flower. 

2. Its blossoms are dark blue. 

3. Its home is usually in moist 

meadows. 

4. Its petals are fringed. 

5. It is a very beautiful flower. 

What is the subject of the flrst 
sentence? Is gentian of singular or 
plural number? What is the subject 
of the second sentence ? Is hlossoms of singular 
or plural number? Of what number is home 
petals? It? 

Of the two forms, is and are^ which have we 
used with subjects of singular number ? with sub- 
jects of plural number ? 

Use is or are to complete these sentences : 

a. The gentians in blossom now. 

h. Their color like that of the sky. 




WAS" AXD "WERE." 57 



c. The fringed petals twisted about one another in 

the bud. 

d. If tlie day cloudy, the flowers closed. 

Write sentences using is or are with each of the following subjects. 
State tvJiy you use is, or a?'e : 

bees birds The fro^t The grass 

house children picture color 

stories poem ladies school 



LESSON XXIX. 
"Was" and "Were." 

1. Yesterday was a holiday. 

2. The day was beautiful. 

3. No clouds were in the sky. 

4. The meadows were brown, and only one shy fringed 
gentian was in blossom. 

5. The squirrels were very busy in the ^voods. 

Separate these sentences into subject and predicate. Which 
form, was or ^vere, do we use with a singular subject ? with a 
plural subject ? 

Use was or were to complete tlie following sentences: 

We delighted to go on a walk into the country. Some 

golden-rod still in bloom, a few birds flying about, and 



58 



FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



we greeted by the '^ Caw ! caw ! " of some crows in the 

meadow. A little brook singing on its journey to join the 

river, the weeds full of seeds which the wind will plant, 

or the birds w^ill eat, and the gentle breeze, which Idowing, 

singing a lullaby to the plants to quiet them for their 



long winter sleep. 

Write sentences rising was o/' were ivitli tJie follow itig subjects : 
A number of sheep A gentle cow The apples 

The boys The game The bobolink 

A circus The animals The day 





LESSON XXX. 




Spell: 

bobolink 


Review. 

reed-bird New Jersey 


clump 


brownish 


speckled rainy 


yesterday 



Write from dictation : 

1. The bobolink is called the reed-bird in New Jersey. 

2. Bobolinks are called rice-birds in the South. 

3. There was a bobolink's nest in the meadow. 

4. The eggs in it were brownish, and speckled. 



Supply is, are, was, were, in the following sentences : 
The leaves brow^n. The wind strong. 



It 



rainy yesterday. There — 

There thirty-two present to-day. 



only two pupils absent last week. 



REVIEW. 




Give a declarative sentence, an interrogative sentence, an 
imperative sentence, and an exclamatory sentence, each about 
tlie fringed gentian. 

The subject of are must be of what number ? the subject of 
is ? the subject of ivas f the subject of ivere ? 

When you say, ^' There is ," do you speak of one subject 

or more than one ? Complete these sentences : There is . 

There are . There was . There ^vere . 

Some words have heeii lost from the folloiving story. Please supply 
them so as to make it complete. 



The Story of — 

Last Slimmer, after the roses and lilies 

built a in my tree. The outside of the nest 

weed, but the a cushion of thistle-down. It - 

It near my window. I could - 



two 



- yellow-birds 
- the bark of some 
such a nest ! 



down into it. There 



SIX 



eggs in it, - 

not afraid of me. She would perch on a 

as if to say, " Haven^t I a pretty ?" The old birds hatched the 



each like a bit of the summer sky. The mother-bird 

-, and turn her head to me 



60 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

and fed and trained their little . The whole family stayed until the 

middle of September. One morning I found a tiny feather on my 

window-sill. The birds had gone to their winter home, but they had left 

the , perhaps as a good-bye card. We called them yellow-birds, but 

their family name is . 



3Jbt. and aibzd. QM,mezican (joidflncli 
Go day " Cooi)-l-)ijc.' ' 



A Poem for Copying and Memory. 

To THE Fringed Gentian. 

Thou blossom bright ^vith autumn dew, 
And colored with the heavens' own blue, 
Thou openest when the quiet light 
Succeeds the keen and frosty night. 

Thou comest not when blossoms lean 
O'er wandering brooks and springs unseen, 
Or columbines, in purple dressed. 
Nod o'er the ground-bird's hidden nest. 

Thou waitest late, and com'st alone, 
When woods are bare and birds are flown, 
And frosts and shortening days portend 
The aged year is near his end. 



IS, ARE; WAS, WERE; HAVE, AND HAS, WITH NOT. 61 



Then doth tliy sweet and quiet eye 
Look througli its fringes to the sky, 
Blue — blue — as if that sky let fall 
A flower from its cerulean wall. 

— William Cullen Bryant. 




[William Cullen Bryant, an American poet, born in Cum- 
mington, Massachusetts, November 3, 1794 ; died in New York, 
June 12, 1878.] 

LESSON XXXI. 
Is, Are ; Was, Were ; Have, and Has, with Not. 

1. The sun is not shining. 
The sun isn't shining. 

2. The birds are not singing. 
The birds aren't singing. 



62 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



3. Yesterday we found a bobolink's nest, but there were 
not (weren't) any eggs in it. 

4. We called at a squirrel's hole in an oak tree, but Mr. 
Squirrel was not (wasn't) at home. 

Sometimes in writing, and often in speaking, we do not use 
the full form of not, but a contracted form — that is, a form in 
which a part of the word is left out. In writing we join this 
contracted form to the verb before it, and put an apostrophe (') 
in place of the omitted letter. Explain the contracted forms in 
the sentences given. 

For what word is nH an abbreviation ? What is the full 
form of isnH, wasn^t, aren'^t, wereuH ? Write the full forms. 

Contract have not, has not, had not. Wi'ite the contracted 
forms on the board. 

We sometimes hear these forms : wanH, ainH, hainH. Ana- 
lyze each of them by separating the contracted word, not, from 
the form. When not is separated, does the part that is left 
mean anything ? Are these forms correct ? 

LTse the following subjects with the contracted forms of is not, are 
not, was not, were not, have not, had not : 

yellow-bird golden-rod squirrel oak tree 

gentians apples songs clouds 

Arthur and Harry Grace, Mary, and Alice 



.1 STORY FOR WRITTEN REPRODUCTION. 



A Story for AVritteii Reprocliictioii. 



Once upon a time a little wild daisy grew just outside a 
beautiful garden in wbicli there were a great many Howlers. 
The daisy gre^v in the midst of some delicate 
green grass, but the grass Avas carefully weeded 
out of the garden. The sun shone just as 
warmly upon the daisy as it did upon the 
bright peonies, and the showers kissed it just 
as gladly as they did the brilliant tulips, and 
the wind swayed it even more gently than it 
did the flowers in the garden. The daisy often 
looked uj) to the gay and haughty flowers over 
the fence, and thought how beautiful they 
were ; but they held their heads proudly, and 
never looked at the humble daisy. 

One day, when the dais\^ was just as fresh 
and charming as it could be, its little silver 
petals gleaming, its eye as bright as a little 
yellow sun, and some dew-drop diamonds 
sparkling on its stem, a lark soared far above 
it, and sang a most glorious song. '' Ah," said 
the daisy, " what a beautiful song the lark is 
sinofincr to the flowers in the o^arden ! I am 
glad that I can hear it. Perhaps he will come 




64 FIE ST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

to visit them, and then I may be so happy as to see him." Just 
as the daisy said this, the lark sung, " Tweet ! tweet ! " and flew 
down towards the garden. But he did not alight in the midst 
of the peonies and tulips, but on the soft green grass near the 
daisy. " Oh, how beautiful this grass is ! " said the lark, " and 
see, here is the sweetest little flower in all the w^orld, for its 
heart is of gold, its dress is of silver, and there are diamonds 
about its neck." Then the lark kissed the little flower, and 
flew up into the heavens, singing to it a song sweeter than he 
had ever before sung. 

—From "The Daisy," by Hans Christian Andersen. 



LESSON XXXII. 
Some Other Contractions. 

Remembering that not^ when contracted, is written with an 
apostrophe in place of the omitted letter, and joined to the pre- 
ceding word, write the contractions of the following forms : 
do not does not did not 

would not could not should not 

Learn the follorving contractions : 

can not — can't I will . . I'll you will . . . you'll 

he is he's there is — there's it is it's 

I have I've you have . . you've I am I'm 

It was 'twas it will 'twill he will — he'll 



SENTENCES FOR DICTATION. 65 



Write from dictation the following : 

I'm I've ril 

you're you've you'll 

he's 'tis 'twas 

there's there'll doesn't 

don't can't shouldn't 

After the above forms are ivritten, lorite opposite each its 
uncontracted form. 





LESSON XXXIII. 




'11 ' 


Sentences for Dictation. 




garden 


pretty brought 


peas 


stalks 


enough lives 


gone 



Write from dictation: 

1. The garden isn't pretty now. 

2. The flowers aren't in bloom. 

3. I've brought the tender plants into the house. 

4. I haven't saved enough seed of the sweet peas. 

5. When the frost comes there'll be only brown stalks and 
seed pods. 

6. There's a toad that lives in my garden. 

7. He's gone to his winter sleep now. 

Write these sentences witli contracted fonns : 
Are not you tired ? Were not those crows \ Have you 
not seen the goldfinches I 




Bdwin Henry Landseer. 



tJ6 A PIPEK AND A PAIK OF NUTCKACKEKS. 



A STORY FROM A PICTURE. 67 



LESSON XXXIV. 

A Story from a Picture. 

Note : The plot of a simple story is given, to be expanded by the 
pupils. They may more fully describe the houses of the Squirrels and 
Mrs. Goldfinch, the neighborhood and the occupations of the two fami- 
lies. They may for the time be Mr. and Mrs. Squirrel and Mrs. G-oldfinch, 
and carry on the imaginary conversations. Such an exercise develops 
imagination, freedom in expression, and sympathy for the little lives that 
the children represent in their play-story. A written exercise that may be 
arranged to follow the conversation, may be a description of the home of 
the Squirrels, the home of Mrs. Goldfinch, Oak-Tree Lane, or Orchard 
Place. 

Mr. and Mrs. Squirrel live in Oak-Tree Lane. They have a 
very pretty house, well shaded in summer, and very warm in 
winter. There is a beautiful orchard of nut trees back of it. 
One afternoon as they are sitting on their piazza, eating a few 
nuts for luncheon, and chatting about their children who have 
all grown up and gone away to keep house for themselves, a 
little shadow flits across the sunshine, and Mrs. Goldfinch 
alights on a branch in front of them. Mrs. Goldfinch lives in 
Orchard Place, just a little way from Oak-Tree Lane, and she 
and the Squirrels have been very good friends all summer. 
Now she is going away for the winter, and has come to make 
a farewell call. 



08 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

The Squirrels invite Mrs. Goldfiiich into tlieir liouse, but she 
thinks that it is pleasanter out of doors in such nice October 
weather. Mrs. Squirrel is very sorry that Mrs. Goldfinch's 
appetite will not allow of her eating some of the nuts — they 
are so delicious. 

The neighbors chat about their houses, their children, and 
their neighbors, and the two Hunter boys, who also live in 
Orchard Place. The Squirrels tell Mrs. Goldfinch how they 
shall miss the beautiful songs of her family when she is gone, 
and she thanks them and says that she shall also miss their 
bright chatter and lively playing. Finally they bid each other 
good-bye, with the hope of meeting again the next summer. 

Note : Use as subjects for conversation : 
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Squirrel. 
The home of Mrs. Goldfinch. 
Oak-Tree Lane. 
Orchard Place. 
The Hunter boys. 

LESSON XXXV. 
Words that Express Action. 

In expressing thoughts we need words not only to name 
objects, but also to tell what they do. Horse is a name. If I 
wish to talk about a horse I may say that he t/rots fast, or eats 
the brown hay, or draws the ^vagon, or loves his master. 



VrORDS THAT EXPRESS ACTIOS. 69 

Give sentences telling what your father does ; what your 
mother does ; what Mr. and ^Nlrs. Squirrel did ; what Mrs. Gold- 
finch did ; what a dog does. 

AVrite these sentences on the boai'd. drawing one line under 
the subject-noun and two lines under the word that tells what 
each subject-noun does. 

A icord tliat teJU what a person or thing does is a verb. 
Later we shall learn that other words are verbs, but now we 
have to remember that artion-icoi'ds — words that tell what a 
person or thing does — form the first class of verbs. 

1. The wind whirls the brown leaves. 

2. It sweeps them into the hollows. It makes heaps of 
them by the fences. 

3. The trees are losing their covering. 

4. The farmers o-ather the leaves. Thev use them to make 
soft beds for the horses. 

5. The leaves cover the little plants. They protect them 
from the snow and the cold. 

AVliat word in the first sentence represents icliat does something ? 
AVrite that word on the board. AVhat represents its action ? Write that 
word on the board, after the subject, thus : 

luincl whirls 

Do the same with each succeeding sentence. We shall have, then, two 
columns of words, the first, suhject-icords, nouns or words representing 



70 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



nouns {It and they represent nouns. What nouns ?) ; the second, action- 
words, or verbs. 

Write sentences containing the folloiving verbs : 
bring helps drove has seen 

are reading sings have cut was making 

LESSON XXXVI. 
Words that Describe. 

I am thinking of a fruit that is round., yellow^ and sweet. 
What do you think that it is? What words did I use to 
describe it ? Write those ^^^o^ds on the boai'd. 

I am thinking of something that we use in school that is 
white., flat, thin, and oblong. What do you think that it is ? 
What words did I use to describe it ? Write those w^ords on 
the board. 

Think of some object and write on the board tlie words that 
describe it. Let the other pupils guess the object from these 
descriptive words. 

Use tvords to describe these objects : 

A pencil An apple A slate A flower 
A house A hat A kitten A horse 

Note : Lead the class to use descriptive adjectives in two ways : by 
completing the statement with adjectives after is, thus : A pencil is long, 
round, and blach ; by placing the adjectives before the noun, thus: A 
long, round, blach pencil lies on m,y desk. 



WORDS THA T DESCRIBE. 



Words that are used to describe objects are adjectives. 

What adjectives did you use to describe a pencil ? an apple ? etc. 

What words d escribe in the following sentences ? 

a. Billy Wren is a funny little bird. 

h. He is short, round, and brown. 

c. He likes to build his nest in a pretty, neat bird-house. 

d. His nest of dried grass sometimes holds six plump little wrens. 

e. The wren is a brave, cheerful bird, with a bright and pleasing song. 



Oive sentences containing the foil oiving adjectives 

pleasant sour yellow happy 

obedient pretty interesting blue 
happy tall small fragrant 



Spell : 
shivering 



grasses 



coverlet cuckoo 



A stanza f 07' dictation: 
G-ood-night, little shivering grasses ! 

Lie down "neath the coverlet white, 
And rest till the cuckoo is singing ; 

Good-night, little grasses, good-night ! 
— From "A November Good-night," 

by Mrs. E. E. Beers. 

What is the coverlet tvhite f When will the 
grasses wake tip 9 Does the coverlet white keep 
the grasses warm 9 




72 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



LESSON XXXVll. 
I, You, He, She, and It. 

If Mr. Harris were to speak to your class, he Avoukl not say, 
^' Mr. Harris is happy to visit the claHS^ to-day," but " / am 
glad to visit you^ to-day." He would use instead of his own 
name, ij and instead of your names, or the words, the class, you. 
If you were to tell something about Mrs. Thaxter, the poet, you 
would not say, "Mrs. Thaxter lived in a little cottage on 
Appledore Island. Mrs. Thaxter had an island garden in front 
of Mrs. Thaxter'' s house, where Mrs. Thaxter used to take great 
pleasure in planting Mrs. Thaxter''s seeds, and watching the 
growth of Mrs. Thaxter s flowers." Instead of Mrs. Thaxter 
you would sometimes use she^ and instead of Mrs. Thaxter'' s you 
would use her. 

Tell this again, naturally, and see how you would use the 
little words she and her., to avoid repeating the name. 

We make constant use of sucli little words to represent 
nouns. The person who is speaking nses 7, ine^ my^ mine, 
instead of his name ; lie uses yon, your, yours, instead of the 
name of the person to whom he speaks ; and very often he uses 
he, his, him, she, her, hers, it, its, in place of the name of the 
person or thing of which he speaks. 

A ivord used to rejpresent a noun is called a pronoun. 



WK YOU, AND THEY. 73 



Find the pronouns in the following sentences, and tell what noun each 
represents. 

1 . Mr. and Mrs. Wren were in search of a snmmer house. Mr. Flagg 
had built a very pretty one in his yard, and Mr. Wren went to consult him 
about the rent. 

2. Mr. Flagg said, " I will let you have the house, Mr. Wren, if you 
will sing me a song every morning." 

3. ''You are very kind/'" said Mr. Wren, ''but I must consult my 
wife, Jenny. It is a very pretty house, and I think she will like it.'' 

4. Away flew Mr. Billy to consult Mrs. Jenny. He and she had a 
very short conversation in the bird language. Then Mr. Wren flew back 
to Mr. Flagg to tell him that he would hire his house, and pay him a song 
a day. 

Imagine the conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Wren in regard to 
hiring the bird-house. Write on the board so much of it as time may 
allow, underlining each pronoun. 

Write four sentences concerning the Wrens and the cats. 



LESSON XXXVIII. 
We, You, and They. 

After they had built their nest of some pine needles which 
they brought fi'om the woods, and some dry hay which they 
found near the barn, Mr. and Mrs. Wren stayed quite closely at 
home for some days. But one morning Mr. Billy Wren sang 
an unusually sweet and joyful song, and the words seemed to 
be, ^^We have six little eggs. We — loe — ^oe — have six little 



74 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

eggs." A little while after, his morning song seemed to be 
overflowing with joy, '' We have six — six — six — little wrens 
— little wrens." Mrs. Jenny Wren, however, did not like the 
kittens that played on the lawn near her house. She used to 
scold them very sharply, saying, " You — you — you — keep away 
— keep away." 

What words do these pronouns i-epresent : they, their, tve, 
yoit, them f 

Put the folloioiucj 'pronouns into oral sentences: 

I we you he she it they 

my our your his her its their 

mine ours yours him hers theirs 
me us them 

After giving each sentence, tell what noun each pronoun 
represents. 

The pronoun I is always luritten with a capital letter. 

If tlie speaher uses another pjronouu rvitli I, <:/.s' " He and I," 
" You and I," " You, lie, and I," or the name of a person, as 
''Mr. Flagg and I," ''My mother and I," the pronoun I always 
should he placed last. 



SENTENCES FOR DICTATION. 75 



LESSON XXXIX. 
Sentences for Dictation. 



Spell: 








^vatclied 


wren 


ready 


th^e^v 


brought 


bough 


waiting 


perched 



Write froin dictaiion : 

1. My father and I watched Mr. Wreu as he made his 
house ready for Mrs. Wreu. 

2. He threw out some chips that had been left in the bird- 
house. 

3. Theu he brought some pine needles and dry hay. 

4. Mr. Flagg, my father, and I sa\v Mrs. Wren sitting on 
an apple bough. 

5. She was waiting for Mr. Wren to bring the material for 
the nest. 

6. They did not mind us, but they scolded the cat. 

7. When the nest was finished, Mr. Wren perched near 
his wife. 

8. He sang a little song to her, and then they went to 
housekeeping. 



76 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



A Selection for Memory. 

A Song. 

A floating, a floating 

Across the sleeping sea, 
All night I heard a singing bird 

Upon the topmost tree. 

^' Oh, come you from the isles of Grreece 
Or from the banks of Seine ; 
Or off some tree in forests free 
Which fringe the a\ estern main ? " 

" I came not from the old world 
Nor yet from oft* the ne\v — 
But I am one of the birds of God 
Which sing the whole night through." 

— Charles Kingsley. 

[Charles Kingsley, an English clergyman and writer, born 
June 12, 1819; died January 23, 1875.] 



the:' 'm." and "AN 



LESSON XL. 
"The," "A," and "Au." 

1. The barn is an old, brown one. 

2. The doors are open, and we can see the cattle Avithin it. 

3. A cart full of hay stands on the floor. 

4. A barn swallow has built his nest against one of the 
rafters. 

5. An old- elm tree shades the barn. 

6. An orchard of apple trees lies behind the barn. 

The, a, and an are little words that we use very often before 
nouns. They are called articles, and belong to the class of 
words called adjectives. 

When we wish to denote some particular object, we use the. 
AVhen we wish to speak of an object without denoting a par- 
ticular one, we use a or an. So we call tJie the definite article, 
and a and an the indefinite articles. Before plural nouns the 
only can be used. 

Before words beginning with the sound of a, e, i, o, and u, 
we use an as an indefinite article ; before words beginning with 
any other sound we use a. 

Turn to some story in one of your reading hooks, and, notice 
hoiv the articles are used. 



78 



FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



Which indefinite article, a or an, would you use before each of the 
following nouns ? Why ? 

Apple, board, cart, dandelion, elephant, fox, gift, house, honor, 
image, journey, kettle, lamb, mouse, note, ostrich, pearl, queen, rose, 
scholar, teacher, union, vine, wharf, xema, youth, zone. 




■p.N<^"R 



A Poem to be Copied. 

Child's Song it^ Spring. 

Tbe silver birch is a dainty lady, 

Slie wears a satin gown ; • 
The elm tree makes the old churchyard shady, 

She will not live in town. 

The English oak is a sturdy fellow, 

He gets his green coat late ; 
The willow is smart in a suit of yellow, 

While brown the beech trees ^vait. 

Such a gay green gown as God gives the 
larches — 
As green as He is good ! 
The hazels hold up their arms for arches 
When Spring rides through the wood. 

— E. Nesbit. 



A STORY FOE REVIEW WORK, AND FOR REPRODUCTION. 79 



LESSON XLI. 
A Story for Review AVork, aucl for Reproduction. 

The Haughty AVeatheryaxe. 

In a pi'ettY village on the seacoast, where all 
the men were fishermeD, a church stood on a high 
hill. It was a beautiful church with a tall spire, 
and at the topmost point of the spire was a 
srolden weathervane to tell the fishermen in the 
villao^e from Ydiat direction the wind blew. Every 
mornino' the men would look up at the oiitterino- 
vane, and if it pointed to the east or to the north 
they would stay at home to repair their boats and 
nets ; but if it pointed to the south or west they 
would push out their boats and row away to catch the fish. 
No^v the beautiful weathervane saw that the people of the vil- 
lage paid great attention to him, and he said, " I am the most 
poY^erful thing in the village. I am foolish to allow every 
little breeze to turn me." So when the noi'th wind came, and 
said '' Turn, turn I " the weathervane would not stir. Then the 
north wind blew ^vith such force that it tore the weathervane 
from the top of the spire and threw it down on the ground. 
When the men found that the weathervane was blown down. 
theY merelv looked at the branches of the trees, and everv 




80 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

branch told them from which quarter the wind blew. So the 
vane learned that it was of no more power in the village than 
a humble twig upon a little tree. If it had done its duty it 
would have been honored still, but because it had groAvn proud 
and refused to Jo its work, it had been thrown down and 
bruised, and lay unnoticed among the weeds of the fields. 

By and by, when it had grown very sorry for its obstinacy, 
the old sexton of the church came and picked it up. He had 
it repaired and gilded and ]:)ut in place again. It was more 
beautiful than ever and it was no longer proud. It was so glad 
to be again in its place that it said, " Dear winds, turn me as 
you will. I am only a servant to help the fishermen, and I 
never again will l)e disobedient and obstinate." 

Review, using this story ; 

Nouns, singular and plural ; 

Pronouns; the nouns that they represent, as representing the speaker, 
the person addressed, the person or thing spoken of ; 

Verbs, and the nouns or i^ronouns of which they represent the action ; 
Adjectives, and articles. 

Note : Teach that pronouns representing the speaker are of the first 
person; those representing the person spoken to. are of the second person; 
and those representing the person or thing spoken of, are of the third 
person. 

Reproduce the f^torji oraUii. 



SOMU FOJUIS OF THE VERB. 81 



LESSON XLII. 
Some Forms of tlie Verb. 

1. We see soft clouds floating iu tlie sky. 

2. We saw last night many bright stars there. 

3. We are seeing so many beautiful things every day ! 

4. We have seen often the Lady Moon floating slowly 
across the evening sky. 

Separate these sentences into subject and predicate. Find 
the verb of each sentence, and write it on the board. 
We shall have, then, these forms : 

see saw (are) seeing (have) seen 

Does the first sentence refer to present oi* past time ? What 
verb is used in it I Use the verb see in original sentences. 

Does the verb in the second sentence represent an act as 
happening now, or in past time i What verb is used in it ? 
Use the verb smv in original sentences. 

Use the verb-form .seeing in original sentences. 

Use the verb-form seen in original sentences. 

Xotice tliat 'we liave four forms of tlie verb in the above 
sentences : 

6 



82 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

I. The form of the verb that represents present time 
called the present tense of the verb. 

Note : The word tense means time. 

II. The form of the verb that represents jxist time, called 
the past tense of the verb. 

III. A verb-form that ends in ing^ called the present par- 
ticiple of the verb. 

IV. A vei'b-foi*m that is used with has, have, and had, 
called the perfect participle of the verb. 

Present Past Present Part lei pit Past Participle 

see, sees saw seeing seen 

These parts of a verb are called its principal parts. The principal 
parts of a verb should be learned very carefully. 

Sentence.'^ for completion and dictation : 

a. Last night I the new moon in the west. 

h. Is the new moon always there ? 

c. This morning I rose early to the sun rise. My little dog, 

me start for a walk, ran after me. We a little squirrel 

getting his breakfast. "'Shadow-tail." us, said. " Chir-r-r," which 

perhaps was his ''good-morning." Carlo said, *^ Bow-wow/' which was 
his '^good-morning.^' 

Write three sentences, telling of some pretty sight that you have seen, 
or of something that you would like to see. 



THE VLBB ''DO/' 83 



LESSON XLIII. 
The Verb '* Do." 

Learn the principal parts of the verb do : 
Present Past Present Participle Past Participle 

do, does did doing done 

Use these four forms with I, you, he. she. it, we, they ; thus : 
I clo^ yon do, he does; we do^ they do. 

Place the proper form of do in the foil (noing sentences: 

a. Grace her work very neatly. 

h. Edward a very kind act yesterday. 

c. Are you tlie best that you can ? 

d. How beautifully iVnna has her sewing ! 

e. "' your best, your very best, 

And it every day." 

Write origincd sentences., using each of the forms of do, 

Note : In the lessons that follow, the principal parts of the more 
troublesome verbs will be given. The teacher can very easily arrange 
sentences like those above, in which the parts of the verbs are to be sup- 
plied, and can have the pupils give original sentences illustrating the 
same. Revieiv and repetition will develop among the pupils the habit of 
using the correct forms of the verbs. 



84 



FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 




Poems for Memory. 

" Whichever Way the Wind Do^i h Blow." 

Whichever way the wind doth bh)w, 
Some heart is glad to have it so ; 
Then blow it east or blow" it west, 
The wind that blows — that wind is best. 

My little craft sails not alone ; 
A thousand fleets from e\^ery zone 
Are out upon a thousand seas ; 
And what for me were favoring breeze 
Might dash another with a shock 
Of doom, upon some hidden rock. 



And so I do not dare to pray 
For winds to waft me on my way ; 



POEMS FOR IME3I0RY. 85 



But leave it to a Higher Will 

To stay or speed me — trusting still 

That all is well, and sui*e that He 

Who launched my bark \vill sail ^\'itll me 

Through storm and calm, and will not fail 
Whatever breezes may pi'evail, 
To land me, every peril past, 
Within His sheltering heaven at last. 

Then whatsoever wind doth blow, 
Some heart is glad to have it so ; 
And blow it east or blow it west, 
The wind that blo^vs — that wind is best. 

—Caroline A. Mason. 



The year 's at the spring 

And day 's at the morn; 
Morning 's at seven ; 

The hillside 's dew-pearled; 
The lark 's on the wing ; 

The snail 's on the thorn : 
God 's in His heaven — 

All 's right with the world. 

— Robert Browning. 



86 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



LESSON XLIV. 
Review Exercises. 

I. 

1. AVhen is a noun of singular number? 

2. When is a noun of plural number ? 

3. In what way do many nouns form the plural ? 

4. Write the singular and plural forms of three objects in 
the room ; three flowers ; tlii'ee domestic animals ; three wild 
animals. What are domestic animals ? 

5. What are the nouns in the following stanza i Which 
are of singular number? Which are of plural number? 

A Bird's Nest. 

Over my shaded doorway 

Two little brown-wiuD^ed birds 
Have chosen to fashion their d^velling, 

And utter their loving words ; 
All day they are going and coming 

On errands frequent and fleet, 
And warbling over and over, 

" Sweetest, sweet, sweet, O sweet ! " 

—Florence Percy. 



REVIEW EXERCISES. 87 



II. 

1. What is tlie subject of a sentence ? 

2. What is the predicate of a sentence ? 

3. What is the important word in the subject ? 

4. AYhat is the important word in the predicate ? 

5. Divide the following sentences into subject and predi- 
cate, and underline the important Avord in each, as shown on 
page 52 : 

a. Little Miss Apis makes wax cells. 

h. Some cells are for honey. 

c. Some cells are foi* eggs. 

cL The eo'D^-cells ai-e called cradle-cells. 

e. The queen-bee lays sometimes three thousand eggs a day. 

f. The nurse-bees keep the eggs warm. 

III. 

1. What class of words desciibe ? 

2. Use words to describe an apple ; a dress ; a horse ; a 
house ; a river. 

3. What words describe in the following sentences : 

a. The little eggs hatch in three days, but not into pretty 
downy bees, with soft gauzy wings. 

h. The little eggs hatch into small white worm-like things, 
called larvce. 



88 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



c. The kind nurse-bees feed the delicate wdiite larv(e with 
bee-milk. 

d. Each little larixt covers itself with a soft silken robe. 

e. Hidden by this robe, it grows, and by and by it puts its 
little head out and comes' forth — a beautiful young bee, downy 
and light-colored, with delicate gauzy wings. 

What does dcnvny mean '\ (jauzy f delicate f siJhen f robe ? 
hidden ? 

IV. 

1. What class of words do we use to represent nouns? 

2. What pronouns represent the person wlio speahs f the 
person spolcen to f the person or thing spohen of f 

3. What class of words represents the action of the 
subject ? 

Find the nonm^^ pronouns^ adjectives^ and verhs in the 
followincj story : 

Once upon a time a lark chose a thick tuft of grass in a 
pretty meadow for her summer home, and in it she wove her 
nest. She made the outside of dry, wiry grass, but she lined 
the inside with softer and finer blades. She covered the nest 
carefully, and built a little hidden way to it, so that no one 
might find the five white eggs that were her treasures. 

But when fiye little babv larks came, she sang* her secret to 
the sun and the sky and the breezes and the flowers. 



.1 LETTER. 



89 



LESSON XLV. 
A Letter. 




TTVa/i^ lb, i§q§. 

rvcua>-e. a/o-/yiX, ayrvcL VnJL Ayo-iX hyOA^Y\.6 o^. \JJbAAJi 



-rvcua^-t 'Xixvtx^n., axn^ uvriiyno. trbt u>^CLAxryv /^Uyu^n^ 



90 



FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



(yrtUxiA.t^rb ^oaaX o-^yv lyruuA. uo-yuIjl 6j\JUiAjl6 OL/nxi. 



cv 



qJWUY\. \)Y\yoX (jXtAy- '{J} CAaX '^^^YV oVU-L hyXjJxX^. 



({AjiA^ trviAJL oAjl cu ^nAA.^vrvlWb cv. Witt 4ai/rb4, t<i.oru 

CAAytiMX o^-. ^OAy^rui \J> o^nx 4axyyv UMyUi. cu ^JUjX rVL<iyA. 
tnyaX i^ ^YVAyX cu 4axMyi>-cLt\. iW-oc. iU^aAA>-^yv 4M.vi>-u>- 
VnAA 'mAy<L<Lu. hiA^Yx. 'kJ) cl '^ujoaX 4vooc tru. onxVuvi- 

cixt ^mx. tlJLl 'XjAyAA. cu /<ixMyuX. J rut 4>-tt<^ ^xmAaX 

^A^o-^yn. trtt 4a<Myi>-<xeA/ iM>-oot<4 cunxL it<xa>-t iX 



A LETTER. 91 



ooayucL<Li.t Ai^i/yi. to- lynx Auxx 4^-0-00 aX lyU ^xvo-t, 

'i^YxlAy- X/rJL AumjX oruAA/u trL<iyt UM. exxt. 

rrVui. UaxAA.^^ - l2)vo-MA)^^rru cLo-e^ ^rvoX c-oXt trut 
u>-ruyLt axiA/yru/yvU Uo/cut 4Wl cMOAXdAx/vv u>-ex:iyb 

Ut>Ax>Xi<i., UMOXxyrt /yrLXxi/yv<4 cAx>-u>-^yu. ^rU. 

(MiXw U^^ u/tvcUa.- cIaxA4 4^1 ou /yixixrnx t^axiX 
'Truxx^yv4 caa^ LcuCo^oo. ^ru. Xxlo^ WvoX tru. 

trb<xt i/o-o4t-<i A<y- n^ruAAyrL UAzt VnJL kiUjJjL {amXyl 
uj-YUAyn. (X oAaa/xi-'XuaX ^[oyoxtoaxl^ CL/wcL aAyixKvcL<:i 

cXX/yvt iX cu pAxwu AX/oAyu? tX tixv4:x omma. 
umXc ^A/yvcL iX i/rJxAxdXi/nytx, ayyix<L UMxt^w tX cx>-ooxt 



92 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 






This is a letter wliicli a little girl with a quaint name, 
Darthea Penrose, sent to her mother, in the time of the blos- 
soming of the trees. If we examine it we shall see how she ar- 
ranged it, and then we can try to tell our mothers or our friends 
some interesting story in the form of a letter. A letter always 
should he neatly written^ caref%dly arranged, and projperly folded. 

LESSON XLVI. 
The Heading- of a Letter. 

In the letter which Darthea wrote we notice, first, the head- 
ing; that is, we are told just loliere the letter was written, and 
'when. The heading begins a little to the left of the middle of 
the l3age, and is arranged on lines like these : 



THE SALUTATION. 



Draw lines like these several times, beginning the first line 
a little to. the left of your paper or slate. 

When you have done this, write the following headings, 
being careful to put on the first line the name of the building 
or street, on the second the name of the city or town, and of 
the state, and on the third line the date. Write these headings, 
first with base lines, and then without base lines. 

The name of your school, your town or city, the state, and the date 
of your last birthday. 

The name of the street on wliich you live, the town or city, the state, 
and the date of your mother's birthday. 

Write a heading as if you were writing from Sweet-Briar Cottage, in 
Rosemont, California, on August 1st of this year. 

AVrite a heading as if you were writing at 715 Peach Street, Atlanta, 
Grsorgia, on Christmas day of this year. 

Write a heading as if you were writing in Independence Hall in 
Philadelphia, Pa., on July 4th of this year. 



LESSON XLVII. 
The Salutation. 

You will notice that Darthea begins her letter, " My dear 
Mother : " This part of the letter is called the salutation. The 
title of the person to whom you write, and the name, of course, 
must be begun with a capital letter. Notice the position of the 



94 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

salutation in the letter, and copy in a corresponding place on 
your paper or slate tlie following salutations : 

My dear Father : My dear Uncle : 

Dear Grrandmamma : My dear Sir : 

My dear Miss Blake : Dear Cousin Edward : 

Dear Aunt Mary : My dear Sister : 

My dear Madam : 

The punctuation point that follows the salutation is a colon. 

Father, mother, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, cousin, grand- 
mamma, grandfather, are titles of relationship. 

Write the salutation of a letter to one of }'our aunts ; to one 
of your uncles ; to one of your cousins ; to your teacher ; to one 
of your friends. 

Where is the salutation placed ? With what kind of a letter 
is it begun ? Where else in the salutation do you use capital 
letters ? What punctuation point follows it ? What one word 
do you find in each of the salutations that are given you to be 
copied ? 

The word dear in the salutation of a letter does not necessarily denote 
affection^ but is used for courtesy. It is like the polite bow with which 
we greet one another, and it is not proper to omit it. 



THE CLOSE OF THE LETTER. 



LESSON XLVIII. 
The Close of the Letter. 

After the salutation comes the body of tlie letter, which con- 
tains whatever you may wish to write, and after the body the close., 
and last the signature — the name of the person who writes the 
letter. In Darthea's letter, "Your loving daughter" is the 
close, and " Darthea Penrose," the signature. 

You will notice in what place and in what way the close 
and signature are written. The close begins a little to the left 
of the middle of the page, and is followed by a comma. The 
signature is written below it, beginning a little farther to the 
right. 

Draw lines like these to denote the dose and signature : 



There are many ways of writing the close, and we use 
forms in writing to our friends different from those that we use 
in writing to strangers. Copy the following in the proper 
place on your paper or slate : 
For relatives an/I friends : 
Your loving daughter, Your affectionate son, 

Your loving niece, Your cousin. 

Your friend, Your loving pupil. 



96 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

For strangers : 

Yours very truly, Very truly yours, 

Respectfully yours, Yours respectfully, 

Sincerely yours. Yours sincerely. 

Write your first name only after the first six forms of close, and your 
full name after the last six forms. 



Note : It is a great pleasure to a child to write a letter to some one 
of his family or of his friends. Such letters may tell of some occurrence 
in school, may be invitations to visit the school, or may, like Darthea 
Penrose's, relate something interesting that has been taught. Whatever 
is to be the body of the letter should be talked over and carefully arranged 
before being written in the letter. 

The pictures and the little stories in the previous pages of this book 
will furnish material for many letters. They should be presented fresh to 
the pupils' minds ; then the pupils should tell the stories orally ; then the 
stories may be written and copied into the letter. Care should be taken 
to write a little introduction and close, such as Darthea wrote. Letters 
may be arranged from the following pictures and stories : 

1. The story of " The Joy of the Morning." — Frontispiece. 

2. The little lace spinner. — Page 19. 

3. The work of the apple blossoms. — Pages 22-23. 

4. The pet bird. — Page 35. 

5. The Honey Bee family. — Page 64. 

6. The yellow-bird family. — Pages 59-60. 

7. The daisy and the lark. — Pages 63-64. 

8. The Squirrels and Mrs. Goldfinch.— Pages 67-68. 



THE FORM OF A LETTER. 97 



LESSON XLIX. 
The Form of a Letter. 

Draw the form of a letter on slate or paper ^ like the following 

1 



FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



What is written on line 1 \ on line 2 { on line 3 ? on line 
4 ? on line 5 ? on line 6 ? 6>72' /m^ 7 ? 

Note : In beginning letter-writing pupils should be directed to leave 
a margin of one-half or three-fourths of an inch in width on the left of 
the page, and to make the indentions of the paragraphs equal in width to 
the margin. In the first letters some little story, or some pleasant in- 
cident of the school life may form the body of the letter, and the letter 
itself may be sent by the pupil to the member of the family or to the 
friend to whom it is directed. The important part of early letter-writing 
and composition work is neatness, and correctness in form and expression. 



LESSON L. 
The Addressing of Envelopes. 

When Darthea Peni'ose had written her letter, she folded it 
neatly, carefully bringing the lower edge of the first page ex- 
actly in line Avith the U23per edge, and put it in an envelope, the 
line of the fold of the letter beina" at the bottom of the envel- 
ope. The envelope she addressed as follows : 

^KJO-uX XDh^^xJX. ixX^KU. • 

/ 



// 

a 



THE ADDRESSING OF ENVELOPES. 99 

The stamp was neatly placed in the upper right-hand corner 
with the head on it erect ; the name of her mother was written 
with the base of the letters on a line that was the exact middle 
of the envelope, and the name of the street, of the town, and of 
the state arranged as is shown. No punctuation mark follows 
any line, except the period that denotes an abbreviation. 

Draw on paper or slates envelopes, one 4 inches hy 6 inches ; 
one 4 inches by 5 inches ^ one 3^ inches by 6^ inches. 

Address the first to your mother; the second to some class- 
mate ; the third to Mess?'S. Silver, Burdett & Company, Boston, 
Massachusetts. 

Cut and fold paper exactly to fit these envelopes, folding once to fit 
the first and second envelopes, and making two folds to fit the third. 
This last folding can be done by cutting the paper to fit the width of the 
envelope. Then place the upper edge of the paper upon the upper edge 
of the envelope, and fold the paper at the lower edge of the envelope ; 
fold now the sheet over the upper edge. 

Note : For purposes of folding and cutting, old newspapers can be 
used for paper. 




THE SPILLED INK. 



G. Igler. 



A STORY FROM A PICTURE. 101 



LESSON LI. 
A Story from a Picture. 

Study tMs picture to see wliat tlie artist lias (li'a>vii. What 
room do you tliiuk that it is 'i Of what relation are the chil- 
dren ? Where is the mother ? 

What will you name the childi-en { Can you find the pen ? 
What has .the little boy in his mouth i What is he doing ? 
What has happened { 

Let us call the story "The Writing; Lesson," and imaoine 
that the little boy wished to teach his sister how to \vrite a 
letter. They found some paper, and their father's ink bottle, 
and his quill pen. A long time ago there were no steel pens 
such as you now use, and people wrote with, a quill that was 
cut like our pens. 

The blinds of the windoAys that you see are closed. From 
where does the light come that falls upon the faces and the 
table? Do you see any shadows on the floor? Do they show 
you from which direction the light comes ? 

In telling the story, tell who the children were, where they 
liyed, what the little boy wished to do, where he found the 
paper and pen, Avhat happened, and what their mother said 
when she found what had happened. 



102 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

Note : Shape the children's story-telling so that the mother shall say 
what a wise mother would — for the wise mother would praise what the 
little boy attempted to do, but would show him that things are put away 
carefully, so that little hands that are not wise enough or strong enough 
to use them may do no harm with them. 



LESSON LII. 
Nouns that Become Plural by Adding- " es." 

Review Lesson XXV. 

Form the phu'al of letter^ pape)% pen^ qidll^ window^ hlind^ 
stool^ shadow^ bottle, floor. 

Notice how the plurals of the following nouns are formed : 

box boxes fox — foxes tax taxes 

lens lenses glass glasses class — classes 

fish fishes dish dishes bush bushes 

church . .churches torcli torches branch . .branches 

With what sound does box end ? Write on the board the 
letter that gives that sound. With what letter does lens end ? 
Write that letter on the board. With what sound does j^sA 
end? Write on the board the letters that give that sound. 
With what sound does church end ? Write on the board the 
letters that give that sound. 

What does each of these nouns add to the singular to form 



THE PLURAL FORM OF NOUNS ENDING IN "i^." OR ^'FE " 103 

tlie plural ? Analyze the formation of the plural of each of the 
other nouns in the list given. 

Complete the following rule for the foi*mation of the plurals 
of nouns like those preceding: 

JSTouns ending in add to the singular to form the 

'plural. 

Form the plural^ and give the rule for its formation, of each 
noun in the following sentences : 

a. The fox was running in the ditch near the church. 

h. There were some beautiful peaches in the dish. 

c. The grass was set on fire by a match. 

d. The girl's dress was torn by the latch on the door. 

e. The boy's wish was for a watch. 

Review the verb see. (See Lesson XLII.) 

see, sees saw seeing seen 

For extra or out-of-class work : 

Write a letter in proper form to your mother, telling about Mrs. 
Wren's visit to the Squirrels. 



LESSON LIIL 
The Plural Form of Some Nouns Ending in "f " or " fe," 

Nouns ending in f or fe regidarly form the plural by adding 
s, hut some change i to y and add es or s. 



104 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



Form the plv/ral regularly of : 






roof fife 


chief 


hoof 


grief reproof 


belief 


reef 



Notice the folloivmg nouns and their plural forms : 

leaf leaves loaf — loaves wolf ...Avolves 

knife , . knives life — lives wife wives 

If tlie noun ends in /', what letters are added \ To what 
letter is f changed \ 

If the word ends in fe^ what letter is added \ To what 
letter is /' changed ? 

The following nouns form the plural like leaf and hwife. 

Form the plural of each, and explain how it is formed. 
(Learn to spell both the singular and plural forms.) 
beef knife self thief 

calf leaf sheaf wharf 

elf life shelf wife 

half loaf staff Avolf 

Write sentences containing the plural forms of knife, leaf, 
life, loaf, and wolf. 

Sentences for dictation : 

a. The chiefs gave loaves of bread to the poor. 

h. The thieves heard the hoofs of horses. 



THE PLURAL FORM OF NOUNS FNDINU IN '^ 1'." 105 



c. The sheaves of grain stand in the held. 

d. The leaves of the maple tree are beautiful. 

e. The calves are very playful. 

Learn the verb forget. 

forget, foi*get8 forgot forgetting forgotten 

Copy : 

Though the days be cold, and the earth be white, 

And the flowers be hidden from our sight, 

When the Spring says, 'Hlrow I " and the sun says, ^' Blow !" 

They will not forget to blossom, I know. 




LESSON LIV. 



Notice the following nouiis and their plurals : 

day days valley . . . valleys toy toys 

lily lilies cry cries fairy fairies 

Eacli of these nouns ends in y in the singular, but some 
form the plural by adding s^ and some by changing the y to i 
and adding es. 



106 FIB.ST STEPS m ENGLISH. 

What letters precede tlie y in those nouns that form the 
plural by adding s ? 

Nouns ending in y preceded hy a, e, <>, and u, add s to form 
the plural ; all other common nouns ending in j form the plural 
hy changing the y to i and adding es. 

Form the plural of these nouns : 

daisy lady canary fairy 

ily valley memory story 

bay baby chimne}' city 

cherry Jo}^ P^^wy donkey 

holiday belfry stairway P<^^PPy 

Write five sentences, using in each the plural of some of these words. 

Sentences for dictation : 

a. Poppies and lilies grow in my garden. 

b. I like to read stories of fairies. 

c. The chimneys are very many in the cities. 

d. Are the ladies gathering cherries ? 

e. How white the valleys are with daisies ! 

Learn the verh come. 

come, comes came coming come 

Write sentences containing the forms of come. 




THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN. 



H, Kaulbach. 



108 FIB ST STEPS I^^ ENGLISH. 



LESSON LV. 
A Lessoii fi'oiu a Story. 

The Pr?:D Piper of Hameli^. 

Once upon a time a certain German city was overrun with 
rats and mice. Their sharp teetli cut holes through the house 
walls. They robbed the pantries, they ate the grain, they 
frightened the women and troubled the men, and they stole the 
food of the hoi'ses and oxen. So the people offered a reward of 
a great sum of money to any one who would rid the city of this 
plague of rats and mice. One day a man whom no one knew, 
strangely dressed in I'ed and yellow velvet, and carrying a 
beautiful flute made of ebony and gold, appeared in the city 
and offered to relieve it of the troublesome little animals, if 
the people would pay him the reward. This they gladly prom- 
ised to do. Then he raised the flute to his lips and played the 
sweetest, strangest music that was ever heard. No sooner had 
he sounded the first notes than the mischievous rats and mice 
began to come from the houses and stables. They filled the 
alleys and streets. There were old rats and young rats, old 
mice and little baby mice — every rat and mouse in the city — 
and they followed at his heels as he led them through the city 
gates and far, far away, so far that they never returned. 



A LFSSOX FROM A STORY. 109 

But when the llute-pla}ei' came back and asked for liis 
moDey, the people refused to pay him. The llute-phiyer uttered 
no words of reproach, but he once more raised the Hute to 
his lips and phiyed a strain even sweeter and stranger than 
before. And, lo I there came Hocking at his heels all of the 
children of the citv, all of the little bovs and o^irls, their feet 
dancing, and following where he led. Then, still playing the 
wonderful tune, he led them out of the city gates and over the 
hills. Where he led them I d(.) not know, for no one of them 
came back to tell. 

So the city was left desolate and childless, and for long, 
long years there were no smiling babes in the cradles, nor merry- 
faced children in the schools, nor lauo^hino- vouths and maidens 
to dance at the ^'illage festivals, because the people had broken 
their promise to the '' Pied Piper.'' 



Is mice of singular or plural number ? ^rite the singular form on 
the board. What is the singular of women ? of men ? of oxen ? of chil- 
dren ? of feet ? of teeth ? 

Let us write the singular and plural forms of these notins on the 
board. This will be our arrangement : 

man men ^voman women 

foot feet mouse mice 

tooth teeth child children 

ox oxen 

Learn the spelling of the singular and plural forms of these nouns. 



110 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

Learn the verb take. 

take, takes took taking taken 

E'oTE : Use the story to review the whole subject of the formation of 
plurals. 

As a diversion, the teacher may well read to the pupils, " The Pied 
Piper of Hamelin/^ by Robert Browning. 

LESSON LVI. 
Two Bvisiness Letters. 

When we write a business letter, there are three things that 
we must make perfectly plain — (1) our own address, (2) the 
address of the person or firm to wdiom we send, and (3) what 
we wish. 

Study thefollotving model : 

iTUaM^. ^wimA-, iS)uAxi.dyL ¥ Lx^-o^rvjo/CL^n/u, 

2^-33 £aiA iqtA. A., TLui>- UoaJl, Tl. U., 

rri/ix cUxiA. ^{AJ^ : I UadUiI^ Ajl^ywA. "yyvl 



TWO BUSI^'ESS LETTERS. Ill 



\jAyAA.KJ) omA/vi \AajJUu, 

What are tlie several parts of this letter ? To \Yhat address 
should the books be sent ? 

Write a business letter to any grocery firm, ordering 5 gallons of 
kerosene oil, 3 bushels of potatoes, and 50 pounds of sugar. Use abbrevia- 
tions where possible. Use your own address. 

Write a letter to Little, Brown & Co., 254 Washington Street, Boston, 
Mass., ordering 5 copies of " The Man Without a Country/' 5 copies of 
''In His Xame,"' and 3 copies of ''Poems by Helen Hunt Jackson." Use 
your own name and address. 

Write to any firm selling cameras or bicycles, asking that a circular 
or catalogue be sent to you. 



112 - FIliST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



Stmdy the following model : 

lb UVcyruoA/cL I Vo^^zL, 

VCUxn^ I, \S^S. 

iTiyi^ cLt'O/b ^lA^ : f \JL<x.hSL U^v\.<L i^nyoJc^y-AJud. $1.50, 
'.o-^ ixUoAAM^. /d^^yixi. I/O- ^rrut 'X>A. o^nx o^^xiA., Ik.- 

UxMA.^ aMA/V| tAAA^lA^, 

When a lady writes a business letter, she signs it, prefixing her title, 
Mrs. or Miss, inclosed within parentheses. 

Write a letter subscribing to The Youth's Comjmnioyi for one year, 
beginning with the date at which you write. The subscription price is 
$1.75 a year, and the publishers are Perry Mason & Company, 201 Colum- 
bus Avenue, Boston, Mass. 

Write a similar letter subscribing to any paper published near you. 



FORMS OF NOU^^S THAT I) E NOTE POSSESSION'. 113 



LESSON LVII. 
Forms of Nouns tliat Denote Possession. 

1. Mr. Einei'soii's liorse was grazing in front of Mr. Noyes's 
house. 

2. The cliildreirs toys had l)eeii left on the grass. 

3. The boys' (h)g ran out and di'ove the horse away. 

4. Then he broug:ht the o-irls' dolls and laid them on the 
piazza. 

5. The dog's love and care for the children make him a 
useful playfellow. 

AVho owned the horse I AVrite the name on the board. 
A¥ho owned the house I AVrite the name on the board. A¥hat 
is added to each of these names to show rhat tliey own some- 
thing? AVho owned the toys? AVhat is added to that noun 
to show possession ? AA^ho owned the dog ? the dolls ? AVho 
is it that has love and care for the children ? AVrite these 
nouns on the board, and after each the form that shows posses- 
sion, as shown by the sentences. Our list Avill l)e this: 

Mr. Emerson . . Mr. Emerson's Mr. Noyes . . Mr. Noyes's 

chikiren children's boys ])oys' 

girls girls' dog dog's 



114 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

To some of these nouns we have added an apostrophe and 8 
('s),and to some we have added an apostrophe only ('). What 
have we added to every noun of singular number ? What have 
we added to the nouns of plural number ending in s? 

To form tJie jpossessive of any noun, (except plurals ending in 
s), the apostrophe and s ('.9) are added; to plura/s ending in s, the 
apostrophe only (' ) is added. 

Carefully apply this rule in ivriting the possessive form of each noim 
that follows : 

horse ox men horses oxen 

Mr. Jones Mistress Gladys Flora lady 

brothers sister Mrs. Gage ladies fox 

Sentences for dictation : 

a. The oriole^s nest was lined with the silk of the milk-weed. 

h. It hung from an elm tree in Mr. Charleses lawn. 

c. There were several robins^ nests in the orchard. 

ct. The daisy's (sing.) petals were wet with dew. 

e. The daisies' (pi. ) round faces were turned to the sun. 

Learn the verb Avrite. 

write, writes wrote Avriting written 

Fill the blanks in the following sentences w^th the proper 
forms of the verb write : 

1. Whittier The Barefoot Boy." 

2. Mrs. Burnett has some delightful stories. 

3. Who '' October's Bright Blue Weather " ? 



POSSESSIVE AND PLURAL FORMS. 115 



LESSON LVIII. 

Possessive and Plural Forms. 

We must be very careful not to coufuse the form of the pos- 
sessive Avith that of the plural. lu forming the possessive, 
think first of the form of the noun to which the sign of posses- 
sion is added. Then add the apostrophe and s to all nouns ex- 
cepting plural forms ending in s ; to plurals ending in s, add 
the apostrophe only. 

Form the plural, the possessive singular^ and the possessive 
pl/aral of each of the following nouns. Then analyze orally each 
possessive form, thus : 

fairy fairies fairy'^s fairies' 

Fairies'. This is the possessive form of the plural of fairy. 
The plural is spelled f-a-i-r i-e-s, and the possessive is formed by 
adding the apostrophe only, since it is the possessive form of a 
plural noun ending in s. 



lady 


robin 


fox 


wolf 


wolf 


chief 


baby 


mouse 


pony 


woman 


child 


rabbit 


wife 


bee 


squirrel 


ox 



116 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

Change the following possessive phrd.^es into possessive forms, thus: 

The qneen of the fairies The fairies' queen 

The home of tlie poet The song of the larks 

The love of a mother The birthday of Ellis 

The dresses of the ladies The happiness of the children 

Write sentences containiiig these groups of -words. 

LESSON LIX. 
How to Write l>irect Quotations. 

1. Jack Frost came last night. 

Julia says, "Jack Frost came last niglit." 

2. And what did lie do (* 

" And what did he Ao C asked her mother. 

3. ''He built a' roof over the little brook," said Arthur. 

4. "He drew Avonderful j)ictures on the windo\v-2)anes," 
said Julia. 

5. "How beautiful his ^^ork is ! '' exclaimed their mother. 

What are Julia's exact woi'ds in the iii'st sentence ? What 
ai'e her mother's exact ^vords in the second sentence ? What 
are Arthur's exact words in the third sentence? 

When anyone uses, in speaking or writing, the exact words 
of another, these words form a direct quotatiou 



7/0 ir TO WRITE DIRECT QUOTATION'S. \V 



A direct quotation is shown by inclosing the exact words 
with marks ( " '' ) called quotation marlcB, 

Notice that if you read the words that are Avithin tlie quotation 
marks in the preceding sentences, it will be exactly what Julia said, 
what her mother said, what Arthur said, what Julia said, again, and 
what the mother said, again, just as if Ave heard their couA^ersation. 

What punctuation mark separates Julia says from the ({notation ? 
What punctuation mark separates the quotation from ashed her inotlier? 
What 23unctuation mark separates the quotation from Sftid Arihvr? 
What punctuation mark separates the quotation from said Julia ? What 
mark separates the (}uotation from exclaimed their motJier 9 

With what kind of a letter does each quotation begin ? 

A direct quotation (a) iegins with a capital letter, (b) is inclosed hy 
quotation marks, and (c) is separated from the rest of the sentence usually 
by a comma. If the quotation be a question or an exclamation, the inter- 
rogation point or the exclamation point folloAvs it. The punctuation 
mark following a quotation is included Avithin the quotation marks. 

Here are some sentences, and after each is the name of the one Avho 
said them. Write them as quotations, thus : 

Little boats should keep near shore. — Benjamin Franklin. 
Benjamin Franklin says, '' Little boats should keep near shore. ^' 

1. Be good, dear child, and let Avho Avill be happy. 

— Charles Kingsley. 

2, Cherries are ripe ! but then, you know, 

There's the grass to cut and the corn to hoe. — The farmer. 



118 



FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



3. Cherries are ripe ! and so to-day 

We^ll gather them while yon make the hay. — The robins. 

4. How beautiful you are in your silver gown \-—The lark to the daisy. 

5. Isn't the whole world beautiful in spring ! — The daisy to the lark. 

Learn flie verb read, 
read, reads read {pron. red) reading read {pron. red) 




LESSON LX. 
How to Write Direct Quotations, continued. 

Study the folloivhig selection to see how the (juotations are 
written : 

(In the story of " Little Lord Fanntleroy," by Mrs. Burnett, 
Cedric Errol, who is the little Lord Fauntleroy, has gone to 
live with his grandfather, the Earl. The mother is living in a 
little cottage, not very far away.) 

" Do you miss your mother very much ? " asked the Earl. 

" Yes," said Fauntleroy, '' I miss her all the time." 

He went and stood before the Earl and put his hand on his 
knee, looking up at him. 



HOW TO WRITE DIRECT QUOTATIONS. 119 



" You don't miss her, do you ? " lie said. 

" I don't know lier," answered liis lordship. 

'^ I know that," said Fauntleroy, '^ and that's what makes 
me wonder. . . . When I miss her very much, I go and 
look out of my window to where I see her light shine for me 
every night through an open j)lace in the trees. I can see it 
twinkle far aAvay, and I know what it says." 

" What does it say ? " asked my lord. 

"It says, ^Good-night, God keep you all the night!' — just 
what she used to say when we were together. Every night she 
used to say that to me, and every morning she said, ' God bless 
you all the day ! ' So you see I am quite safe all the time." 

Sometimes a quotation is divided into two parts, as in some 
of the sentences above. Then it is called a divided quotation, 
and each part is inclosed by quotation marks. A quotation 
within a quotation is inclosed by single marks. 

Copy the conversation between Fauntleroy and the Earl^ omitting 
everything except what they each said. 

A Story for dictation : 

Sometimes, after the winter storms are past and just before the 
flowers begin to gladden the earth again, there falls a covering of soft 
snow over the awakening earth. The warm sun soon melts it, and hangs 
the melted snowflakes in crystal drops upon all the branches and grasses. 
The little G-erman children call these drops '' Snow Bells/' and say that 
they ring for the coming of the spring. 



120 



FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



A Poem for Memory. 




Santa Claus. 



He comes in tlie niglit ! He comes in the night ! 

He softly, silently comes ; 
While the little brown heads on the pillows so Avhite 

Are dreaming: of bno^les and drums. 
He cuts through the snow like a ship through the foam, 

While the white flakes around him whirl ; 
Who tells him I know not, but he findeth the home 

Of each good little boy and girl. 

His sleigh it is long and deep and wide ; 

It will carry a host of things ; 
While dozens of drums hang over the side. 

With the sticks sticking under the strings. 
And yet not a sound of a drum is heard. 

Not a bugle blast is blown, 
As he mounts to the chimney-top like a bird, 

And drops to the hearth like a stone. 



HOW TO WRITE TITLES. 131 



The little red stockings lie silently tills, 

Till the stockings will hold no moi-e; 
The biwht little sleds for the i^i'eat snow hills 

Are qnickly set do\vn on tlie iloor. 
Then Santa Chins nionnts to tlie roof like n bird, 

And glides to his seat in the sleigh ; 
Not the sound of a drum or a bug^le is heard 

As he noiselessly gallops a\vay. 



LESSON LXI. 
How to Write Titles. 

1. "The Jungle Book," by Rudyard Kipling, is a very 
delightful book for boys. 

2. Who wrote " Good-Bye, Sweet Day " ? 

3. The children were singing '^ The Star-Spangled Banner.'' 

4. How beautiful the picture called '' The Pet Bird " is ! 

5. Please read to me '^ The Kino; of the Golden Biver." 

Here are the titles of a book, a poem, a song, a picture, and 
a short story. 

With what kind of a letter does the important word of each 
title begin ? 

AYrite on the board the name of some book that you have 



122 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



read ; some poem that you have learned ; some song that you 
sing ; some picture that pleases you ; and some short story that 
you like. Do not put quotation marlcs around the titles unless 
they are quoted in a sentence. 

The first word and all important words in titles of literally, 
musical, and art works must begin with capital letters. 

If such titles are placed in sentences, they must he inclosed hy 
quotation marks. 

Turn to the table of contents of your reader, and see liow tlie titles 
of the selections are printed. Notice the use of capital letters. Are any 
words not printed with an initial capital ? If so, are they important 
words ? 

quotation taught golden tucked 

Sentences for dictation : 

a. My mother taught me this beautiful quotation : 

" All the lambs in all the folds are sleeping by their mothers ; 
All the birds with golden wings have tucked their heads from sight." 

h. The quotation is from ^' Children's Slumber Song," by Margaret 
E. Sangster. 

c. ''Do you know/'' said my mother, ''that the flowers fold their 
petals at night ? " • 

d. My father gave me a picture, called " Children Singing." 

e. I wonder what they are singing ? Perhaps it is "America." 



A POEM FOB. REPJiODUCTION AND MEilIORY. 



13: 



Ij-ai'ii the Vi^fh u-o. 



go, goes 



>veut 



going 



o'oiie 

o 




A Poem for Reproduction and Memory. 

The So^a of the Seeds ix the Spring. 

Little brown brother, oli ! little broAvii 
brother, 
Are you a, wake in the dark ? 
Here we lie cosily, close to each other : 
Hark to the sohp^ of the lark — 
" Waken ! " the lark says, '' waken and dress you ; 

Pnt on your green coats and gay ; 
Blue sky A\dll shine on you, sunshine caress you — 
Waken ! 'tis morning — 'tis May ! " 

Little brown brother, oh ! little brown brother, 

What kind of ilo\ver will you be ? 
I'll be a poppy — -all white, like my mother ; 

Do be a poppy like me. 
What ! you're a sunflower I How I shall miss you 

When you're grown golden and high ! 

But I shall send all the bees up to kiss you ; 

Little brown brother, good-bye. 

— E. Nesbit. 



124 



FIRST STEP8 IN ENGLISH. 



LESSON LXII. 
A Story for Reproduction. 

The Magic Caskets. 

I. 

Last spring some one gave me two magic caskets. They 
were very small, scarcely bigger than the 
head of a large pin, and yet they con- 
tained more wonderful things than the 
treasury of a king. All of the wisest 
men in the Avorld could not open one of 
these caskets without destroying it, nor 
make one of the precious things that 
came from it. 

11. 

Where do you tliink I put these 
magic caskets ? I dug a little hole in 
the warm May eartli, just under my 
window, and there I hid them, covering 
them with the brown soil. Then the 
great wonder w^orkers, the sun and the 
showers, unlocked them gently, and let 
all of their treasures loose. 




A STORY FOR REPRODUCTION. 125 

III. 

First, pusliiiig their way through the earth, came some little 
leaves, and then other leaves unfolded above them, and then it 
all became two vines, reaching up, and grasping Avith strong- 
little hands at whatever Avould hold them. And so they grew 
and grew. 

IV. 

One day from underneath the leaves two little rolled-up 
umbrellas met my sight. The next morning they opened, so 
beautiful in shape, so marvelous in color, that I do not Avonder 
that they are called the glortj of tlie nioi'niiKj^ or the morning 
glory, 

y. 

The bees saw the crimson and the blue of these flowers, and 
they knew that the beautiful cups held nectar and bee-bread 
for them, and so they came merrily humming and buzzing to 
the delightful feast. But Avhat do you suppose that they did 
to repay the morning glories ? 

YI. 

DoAvn beloAA" the crimson and the blue blossoms lay the seed- 
children of the mornino- o^lories. The blossoms are unable to 
feed their seed-children, and so Avhen the bees took pollen to 
make bee-bread, they left some just where it would reach these 
children. 



12G FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



VII. 

When the morning glory blossoms had given their party to 
the bees, and the bees had brought their gifts for the little seed- 
children, the corollas rolled themselves ag^ain into little closed 
umbrellas. No doubt they said to the dear seed-children, 
"Lie still, little ones, in your soft green cradle. All will be 
well with you now." The crimson crown and the blue crown 
never again invited the bees to a feast of nectar. Their work 
was done. 

VIII. 

Other blossoms from these ver}- vines opened their glories 
to the sun, invited the bees to their seed-children's party, and 
at the close of their day rolled themselves tightly together 
again. And all this beauty and pleasure came from the tiny 
seeds. 

LESSON LXIII, 
The Regular Comparison of Adjectives. 

Place your reading book and geography on the desk. Com- 
pare them in length. 

27ie geograpliy is than the reading hook. 

Compare them in width. 

Tlie geography i^^ titan the reader. 



THE REGULAR COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES. 127 

Compare tlieiu in thickness. 

The geograpliii U than the reader. 

Write on the board the three a\ ords that you have used in 
the comparisons to complete the above sentences. 

Compare the desk in length with the two books. 

The desk ix the of the three ahjects. 

Compare the desk in ^vidth ^vith the t^vo books. Compare 
it in thickness. 

Write on the board the ^vords that you have used in these 
comparisons. 

The words that you have used in comparing two objects 
have what ending ? 

The words that you have used in comparing three objects 
have what ending ? 

Am I comparing tivo objects, or more than two, Avhen I use 
the word lighter ? lightest ? rougher ? roughest ? tallest ? 
larger ? smaller ? kindest ? dearest ? loudest ? 

What will you add to the adjective tcdl to show comparison 
of two objects ? to show comparison of more than two objects ? 

The sparrow is a smcdl bird. The canary is smaller than the 
sparrow. The humming bird is tlie smallest of tlie three. 

What adjective has been used in these sentences I When I 



128 



FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



say, The sparrow is a small bird, do I compare him with any 
other bi]'d ? When I use the word smaller, how many objects 
do I compare ? When I use the word smallest^ how many ob- 
jects do I compare ? 

The simplest form of the adjective (not used in comparison) 
is called the positive fon/i oi the adjective. The form of the 
adjective used in comparing one object with one other is called 
the comparative degree of the adjective. Tlie form of an adjec- 
tive used in comparing one object with more than one other is 
called the superlative degree of the adjective. 



ositive. 


Comparative. 


Superlative. 


long 


longer 


longest 


wide 


wider 


widest 


thick 


thicker 


thickest 


light 


lighter 


lightest 


rough 


rougher 


roughest 


tall 


taller 


tallest 


large 


larger 


largest 


small 


smaller 


smallest 


kind 


kinder 


kindest 


dear 


dearer 


dearest 


loud 


louder 


loudest 



Explain comparison as on pages 126 and 127, using objects to illustrate 
forms of light, rough, tall, and small. 

Give orally sentences containing the three forms of each of the list of 
adjectives. 



THE REGULAR COMPARISON OF liDJECTIVES. 



129 




LESSON LXIV. 
The Regular Comparison of Adjectives, coutiimecl. 

1. The picture of the Merriinac river is heautiful. 
The river is onore heautiful than the picture. 

The laurel is tlie mo.'^t hemcUful of the shrubs that grow 
along its banks. 

2. Tlie man avIio has healtli is oiiore fortumfte than the man 
who has only wealth. 

3. Tlie violet is tlie most modest of flowers. 

4. The poppies are more hrilliojnt than the sweet peas, but 
the sweet peas are more fragrant. 

What adjective do Ave use to describe the picture of the 
Merrimac river? When we compare the river with the picture, 
what two words show the comparison ? When we compare the 
laurel with the other shrubs, what two words do we use ? How, 
then, would you compare heantifulf 

What words in the second sentence show the comparison ? 

in the third sentence ? in the fourth sentence ? 
9 



130 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



Write in one column tlie words that denote comparison of 
one object with one other ; in another column the words that 
denote comparison of one object ^vith more than one other. 

How do we form the comparative degree of these adjectives ? 
the superlative degree ? 

Complete the comparison of the adjectives that you have 
written on the board, by writing in columns the positive, com- 
parative, and superlative forms, thus : 

Positive. Comparative. Superlative. 

beautiful more beautiful most beautiful 

Most adjectives of one syllahle^ and i<o)ne of tivo syUcddes^ are 
regidai'lij coinjyared Inf adding er arid est to the positive form. 

Most adjectives of two si/Uahles^ and all of more than two syl- 
lahles^ are regidarli/ compared, hy prefixing the words more cmd 
most to the 'positive form. 

When an adjective ends in ^, r and st are added instead of 
er and est. Adjectives ending in // cliange the // to i before 
adding er and est. 

Write tlie positive form, and tlie comparative and superlative 
degrees of : 

gentle faithful tiresome handsome 

cruel intelligent thoughtful quiet 

difficult fast lovely rude 

active thirsty dangerous warm 



THE REOULAR C03IPARIS0K OF ADJECTIVES. 181 



LESSON LXV. 
Sentences Illustrating t\\e Regular C'oniparison of Adjectives. 

Complete these sentences Ixj suhstUvtivg tlie pi'oper fonn of the 
adjectives tlictt follow each : 

a. The cat is than the dog; her fur is than his ; 

her cla^vs are ; lier motions : small, 'S(ft, .sharp, quiche. 

I). The dog is than the cat ; he is , , and 

: intelUgent^faitlful, a^fectiomite, unselfsh. 

c. The horse is the of all the laro-er animals ; lie is the 

, the , the , and : heautful, gentle, swift, 

gracefvl, useful. 

d. The wren is than the English sparrow, and : 

small, hrave. 

e. The of iny flowers are the sweet peas ; tlie 



are the crocuses ; the are the cannas ; but the are the 

lilies : stveet, early, hright, lovely. 

Learn the verhs give and run. 

give, gives gave giving given 

run. runs ran running run 



132 



FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



LESSON LXVI. 
The Irreg-ular Comparison of Acyectives. 

Tlie following are a few common adjectives whose compar 
ison is irregular : 



'ositive. 


Comparative. 


Superlative. 


good 


better 


best 


bad 


worse 


worst 


little 


less 


least 


much 


more 


most 


many 


more 


most 



Complete the following sentences by supplying some one of the 
forms of the irregnlar adjectives : 

a. The said, the soonest mended. 

I). Too cooks spoil the broth. 

Hunger is the sauce. 

It is to bend than to break. 



c. 
d. 



foxes spoil the vines. 

by the oak tree growls. 

His lessons went from to — 



Copy : 

What will you sow, my dear children, what will you sow ? 
Seeds of kindness, of sweetness, of jjatience, drop softly, 
and, lo ! 



WORDS THAT TELL "HOW," ''WHERE;' AXD "WHEy." 133 

Love shall blossom around you in joy and in beauty, and make 
A garden of Paradise liere upon eartli for your sake. 

— Celia Thaxter. 



LESSON LXVII. 
Words that tell "How," "AVlieie," and "When." 

1. The storm rages furiously. The wind blows violently, 
the snow falls fast, and the drifts are growing rapidly. 

AVhat words tell how the storm rages, the wind blows, the snow falls, 
and the drifts are growing ? 

2. Here the ^vind has swept the snow from the ground, 
there it has built a huge bank against the gate, and yonder it 
has covered the well -curb Avith a Chinese roof. 

What words tell wliere the wind has swept the snow from the ground, 
where it has built a bank against the gate, and where it has covered the 

well- curb ? 

3. Yesterday the earth was brown Avith withered grass, 
now it is white with snow, but soon it will be green again with 
the fresh grass of spring. 

What words tell when the earth was l)rown, wlien it is white witli 
snow, and v:heii it will be green again ? 

Write on the board the words in these sentences tliat tell how, where, 
and when. 



134 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

Words that tell how, where, and ^vhen, are adverbs. 

a. The storm is very severe. What word tells how severe ? 
/;. The drifts are quite deep. AVhat word tells hoio deep ? 

c. The fire on the hearth hums very clieer fully. What word 
tells how the lire burns ? What word tells lioio cheerfully ? 

d. " There the river comes tviiiding down^ What adverb 
is in this sentence? What does it tell? 

e. The path leads u/pward. What adverb is in this sen- 
tence ? What does it tell ? 

f. Lately the sunsets have been heautful. What advei'b is 
in this sentence ? What does it tell ? 

Learn the verb sino;. 

sing, sings sang o)' sung singing sung 

Selection for copying and memory : 
Over valley, over hill, 
Hai'k, the shepherd piping shrill ! 
Driving all the white ilocks forth 
From the far folds of the North. 
Blo^v, Avind, blow 

Upon youi' pipes of jo}' ; 
All your sheep the flakes of sno\v. 
And you their shepherd boy ! 
— From ''Snow Song-/' bv Frank Dempster Sherman. 



THE REGULAR COMPARISON OF ADVERBS. 



135 



LESSON LXVIII. 
The Regular Comparison of Adverbs. 

1. The storm seems to rao:e more furiously, and the wind to 

blow more violently, than it did this morning. The drift has 

grown most rapidly this last hour. 

What words tell hoiv the storm seems to rag3 ? lioiu the wind seems 
to blow ? lioiv the drift has grown this last hour ? 

2. The robins come early in tlie spring, but the bluebirds 
usually come earlier. 

What word tells when the robins come in the spring ? What word 
tells luhen the bhiebirds come ? 



Positive. 


Comparative. 


Superlative. 


furiously 


more furiously 


most furiously 


violently 


more violently 


most violently 


rapidly 


more rapidly 


most rapidly 


early 


earlier 


earliest 


soon 


sooner 


soonest 



In what two ways do we regularly compare adjectives ? Do we com- 
pare adverbs in the same way ? 



Compare : 
quietly 
late 



noisily 
fast 



softly 
near 



loudly 

low 



Learn the verb fight. 



fight, fights 



fought fighting 



fought 



136 FIEST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

LESSON LXIX. 
Relation Words, or Prepositions. 

A little bird fleiv the branch. 

Here is a sentence that is not complete. One word is miss- 
ing — tlie word that shows the relation of the act of flying to 
the branch. 

Note : Let each pupil complete the sentence by supplying such word 
as he thinks best. These complete sentences should be written on the 
board, the supplied words that show relation being underlined. Then the 
relation words should be written in a column on the board. Teach that — 

These supplied words are relation words, and are called ^re^o- 
sitions. 

A preposition is a tvord that expresses the relation of some 
noun or pronoun that folloios it to some other word in the sen- 
tence. 

Supply prepositions in the following sentences. Think of 
as many as possible that may be supplied for each sentence : 

a. Please put the bird-cage the table. 

/;. The bird is the cage. 

c. I will tell you this bird. 

d. He was given me my brother. He sings 

me early the morning. He loves to perch my head, 



PREPOSITIONS. 



137 



or eat sugar my hand. AVhen he is the cage 

the room, he will iiy me. 

Make a list of these prepositions. Use live of them, each in 
an original written sentence. 

Learn the verhs rise and sink. 



rise, rises 
sink, sinks 



rose 
sank 



rising 
sinking: 



risen 
sunk 



LESSON LXX. 
Prepositions, continued. 



m^^"^^ 






1 1 




^"^.^6 




lililliillllllllilllllilliilillliilillillil 
iiiiiiMiiiii 



1. A little bird came to my window one day. 

2. He tapped, tapped, tapped on the glass with his bilk 

3. I opened the window and put some crumbs on the 
window-sill. 

4. The little bird flew upon the branch of an apple tree. 



138 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



5. By aud by he came to the window-sill and picked up 
some of the crumbs. 

6. Then away he went, across the Helds and over the hills, 
to tell his family that he had been out to dinner. 

Where did the little bird come f Where did he tap f How 
did he ta2)f Where did Iput the crumbs? Where did \ktflyf 
What kind of a hmnclt was it I He picked up some what ? 
Where, then, did he go f Where did he tell his family that 
he had been f 

What is the preposition in the lirst sentence I What noun 
follows it ? The preposition shows the relation of this noun to 
some other ^vord. (The word in italics in the first of the 
questions above suggests ^vhat that Avord is.) Between what 
two words, then, does the preposition show relation ? What is 
the first preposition in the second sentence ? What noun 
follows it ? Between Avhat two words does it show relation ? 
(Look in the questions above for a hint of A\'hat one of the 
words is.) AVhat is the second preposition in the second sen- 
tence ? What nonn follows it ? Between Ashat two words does 
it show relation ? 

Tell about the other prepositions in the same way, first 
mentioning the preposition, then finding the noun that follows 
it, and then deciding what the other Avord is to which it shows 
relation. 



CONNECTIOX WORDS, OR CONJUNCTIONS. 



VM) 



LESSON LXXI. 
Coiineetioii Words, or Conjunctions. 

1. Some plants have earth-roots and air-roots. 

2. The English ivy and our ^ 
poison ivy use their air-roots in \ 7 
clinging to stone walls. ^^^^rv 



The Enodish ivv is culti- 




vated in our cities, but the poison 
ivy grows wild in the country. 

L The poison ivy is most 
harmful at night, or when the sun 
does not shine on it. 

5. It looks like the harmless 
woodbine, but has three leaflets 
while the \voodbine has five. 

What two kinds of roots have some plants I In the first 
sentence what word connects the names 
of the two kinds of roots I Write this 
word on the board. 

What two plants use their air-roots 
for clinmno: to stone walls \ Write on 
the board the woj'd that in the second 
sentence connects the names of these 
plants. There are two statements in the 




140 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

third sentence. What word connects them ? Write this con- 
nection word on the board. 

What connection word do you find in the fourtli sentence 1 
What two connection words do you find in the fifth sentence ? 
Write these connection Avords on the board. 

Some ivords are used merely to connect loords or ideas. Such 
words are named conjunctions. 

In the above sentences Asdiich conjunctions connect words ? 
Which connect ideas ? 

A conjiiiictioii y'.s' a ioord> used, to connect wo/'ds or ideas. 

Learn the verbs speak and l)ite. 
speak, speaks spoke speaking spoken 

bite, bites bit biting bitten 

LESSON LXXII. 
The Conjunction, continued. 

Combine the following groups of sentences by using the 
conjunctions following them, thus : 

This apple is large. This apple is sweet. and 

This apple is large and s^oeet. 

a. Some roses are beautiful. Some roses are fra2:rant. and 
h. Some roses are beautiful. They are not fragrant. hut 



THE CONJUNCTION. 141 



c. The book is on my table. The book is on my desk, or 

d. T will come. I am not ill. if 
€. The lesson is long. It is interesting. altliovqli 

f. The day is beautiful. We ^vill walk to the brook, hecanse 

Use eacli of the above conjunctions in original sentences. 

Find the conjunctions in tlie folloivhuj Helections, and state 
whether tliey connect loords or ideas : 

" It rains, but on a dripping bough 

A little bird sino-s clear and sweet — 
I think lie knows not why or how. . . ." 

" The bottom step was of polished marble, and so shining 
that you could see your face reflected in it. Eacli traveler saw 
liow unclean he Avas, or how tired, or lio\v cross looking." 

The air was fras^i'ant with the odor of new-mown o-rass 
and the breatli of wild strawberries. The whir of the scythes 
and the clatter of the mowing: machines came from distant 
meadows. 

Timothy was happy because the place had brought him 
freedom and jo)'. 

Write original sentences, using the conjunctions : 

and because but or if 

Learn tlie verbs blow" and fly. 

blow, blows blew blowing blown 

fly, flies flew ^yi^g flown 



142 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

LESSON LXXIII. 
Emotion Words, or Interjections. 

1. Oil, liow beautiful the flao^ is, lloatino" as^aiiist tlie clear 
blue sky ! 

2. I never see it floating free without wishing to cry, '^ Hur- 
rali ! hurrah ! " 

3. Alas, that so many brave men have died to keep it free ! 

The words oli^ Imrrali^ and alas^ are used to express emotion 
or feeling. Oli expresses surprise and pleasure, hurrah ex- 
presses joy and praise, alas expresses sorro\v and regret. 

So we may use ah to express pleasure, ^^ to express con- 
tempt, and shame to express indignation. These Avords ai-e 
interjections. 

An interjection is a word used to express strong feeling. 

An exclamation mark (!j usually follows the interjection or 
the sentence in Avhicli it occurs. 

Find the interjections in the following selection : 

" Oh, such a commotion under the ground 
When March called, ' Ho, there, ho ! ' 
Sucli spreading of rootlets far and wide, 
Such whisperings to and fro ; 



SELECTION FOR MEMORY OR GOP VINO. 143 

" Aud, ^ Are you ready ? ' tlie suowdi'op asked, 
^ 'Tis time to start, you know.' 
* Almost, my dear,' tlie scilla replied ; 
^ I'll follow as soon as you go.' 

" Then, ' Ha, La, ka ! ' a chorus came 
Of laughter soft aud lo\v'. 
From the millions of ilo\vers under the orround — 



Yes, millions — begrinninof 'to ofrow.'' 



Write original sentences containing the interject ions : 
ah liurrah oh alas 

Learn the verb fall. 

fall, falls fell falling fallen 



Selection for Memory or Copying. 

The red rose says, " Be sweet," 

And the lily bids, '' Be pure," 
The hardy, brave chrysanthemum, 

" Be patient and endure." 
The violet whispers, " Give, 

Nor grudge nor count the cost." 
The w^oodbine, ^' Keep on blossoming 

In spite of chill and frost." 

— Susan Coolidge. 



144 



FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



LESSON LXXIV. 
A Poem, with Written Exercises Upon It. 

Daybreak. 

A AviucI came up out of tlie sea, 

And said, '' O mists, make room for me." 

It Lailed the ships, and cried, '' Sail on, 
Ye mariners, the nio^lit is wne." 

And hurried hindward far awa}'. 
Crying, ''Awake ! it is the day." 

It said unto the forest, " Sliout! 
Hang all your leafy banners out ! '' 

It touched the Avood-bird's folded Aving, 
And said, "O bird, awake and sing." 

And o'er the farms, " O Chanticleer, 
Your clarion blow ; the day is near." 

It whispered to the fields of corn, 
"Bow down, and hail the coming morn." 

It shouted through the belfry tower, 
" Awake, O bell ! proclaim the hour." 

It crossed the churchyard with a sigh. 
And said, " ISTot yet ! in quiet lie." 

— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 



A POEM. WITH WRITTEN EXERCISES UPON IT. 145 







[Henry Wadswortla Longfellow, an American poet, born in 
Portland, Maine, Febrnary 27, 1807; died in Cambridge, Massa- 
cliusetts, March 24, 1882.] 

Note : The written Avork upon this poem should he a series of word- 
pictures based upon the several stanzas. 

The teacher should by question and suggestion expand the lines of 
the poet, through the answers of the class, into complete pictures. For 
instance, picture the great ocean as a great surface of billowy waters, away 
beyond the sight of land ; night closes in upon it. and the mists arise 
and cover it, shutting out even the sight of the stars ; then comes the 
morning wind, and says, " mists, make room for me.^^ The mists are 
driven away, and the sun shines down upon the sea, making its whole sur- 
face sparkle like countless diamonds. 

In the same way an expanded picture may be made of each of the 
other stanzas. 

After one of these stanzas has been so expanded, let the class write, as 

best they can, the picture. Kindly encourage every attempt, call atten- 
10 



146 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

tion to what is best in each papei% correct errors by the use of the black- 
board, — and excellence will come. Of course these word-pictures should 
not all be given on successive days. Two are enough to be given within 
any one week. 



LESSON LXXV. 
The Possessive Form of Personal Pronouns. 

(Review Lessons XXXVII. and XXXVIII.) 



1. My father gave me this little pony. 

2. I may drive him because he is mine. 

3. My father said, '' Be very kind to your pony. He is 
yours now to care for." 

4. His mane and tail ai*e long and bushy. 

5. We will take our lunch and drive to the woods. 

6. I am sure that the squirrels will chatter their Avelcome 
to us. 

What word in " I iiiay drive him/' represents the speaker ? 
Whose father gave me this little pony ? What word I'epresents 
the possessor ? Is it a noun or a pronoun ? Is it of the first or 
second person ? Why ? What two pronouns represent the pos- 
sessor in the third sentence 'i What pronoun represents the 
possessor in the fourth sentence ? Of what person is it ? What 
pronoun i-epresents the possessor in tlie fifth sentence ? Of 
what person is it ? What pronoun represents the possessor in 



THE POSSESSIVE FORM OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 147 



the sixtli sentence ? What noun does it represent ? Of what 
person is it ? 

The possessive forms of the personal pronouns are these : 

First Personal Second Personal Third Personal 

Pronoun. Pronoun. Pronoun. 

Singular, my, mine your, yours his, her, hers, its 

Plural. our, oui's your, yours their, theirs 

What are the possessive forms of I, we, you, he, she, it, they ? 
Learn the verbs grow and hide. 

grow, grows grew growing grown 

hide, hides hid hiding hidden 

Write five sentences, each containing a different personal 
pronoun in its possessive form. 

LESSON LXXVI. 
The Possessive Form of Personal Pronouns, continued. 

Substitute for the blanks the possessive forms of the loer- 
sonal pronouns : 

First Personal Pronouns^ Singidar. 

a. This is book, and I think that the pencil is 

also. 

/;. This book is a gift from mother. 



148 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

c. Since you have no pony, I will let you drive . 

First Personal Pronouns^ Plural. 

d. This is lesson for to-day. 

e. friends have sent us some fruit, 

f. We will give to the children who have no fruit, some 



of . 

Second Personal Pronouns, Singular and Plural. 

g. How pretty Hoovers are ! 

h. Are not these flowers , too ? 

i. di'a wings are verv carefullv done, childi'en. 

Third Personal Pronouns, Singular. 

j. The boy l)rought mother a l)unch of violets. 

h. The gift bi'ought a smile of pleasure to face. 

/. frao-rance filled the room. 

Third Personal Pronouns, Plural. 

m. Flowers please us l)y form, color, and 

frag^rance. 

n. Beauty and fragrance are . 

0. beauty smiles upon us from the meadows and hill- 
sides ; the gentle breezes bring us fragrance. 

Put in original sentences my, mine ; our, ours ; your^ yours ; 
his, her, hers; its ; their, theirs. 



THE OBJECTIVE F0R3I OF THE PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 149 



LESSON LXXVll. 
The Objective Foriii of tlie Personal Pronouns. 

1. My mother read to rae '^ The Pied Piper of Hamelin." 
It pleased me very much. 

2. Shall I briiio' to you the book that contains it ? It 
would delight you, I know. 

3. How sorry the mothers of the children must have been, 
when they saw them following the flute-player ! 

In the first sentence, what form of the ]U'onoun that repre- 
sents the speaker do we find after to f after ^^lecised f What 
part of speech is to f ijleasedf 

The forms of a noun or pronoun that are governed by a 
preposition or a verb are called objective forms. 

The objective forms of the personal pronouns are me^ ?fs ; 
you / liim, Tier ; it ; them. 

Substitute these objective forms in the following sentences : 

a. The little dog saw , and came bounding to greet , be- 
cause he was very fond of . 

b. To please the gentleman allowed to ride in his carriage. 

c. He told about his little dog ; how he would watch for 



to come home at night, and how he loved the children and would try to 
play with them. ••'He is the dear pet of my children/' he said; '^and 
they love to feed and take to walk with ."' 



150 



FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



Write these pronouns on the board, and below each write 
the possessive form and the objective form : 

I we vou he she it 



we you 

Put the objective forms in oral sentences. 

Learn tlie verb break. 

break, breaks broke breakine^ 



they 



broken 



A Stanza for Dictation. 

God does not send us strange lio^vers every year: 
When the spi'ing Avinds blow o'er the pleasant places, 
The same dear things lift up the same fair faces: 
The violet is here. 

—From "The Violef by Mrs. A. D. T. WmTNEY. 




LESSON LXXVIII. 
Forms of the Personal Pronoun after the Verb ** Be." 

The verb he in its forms am^ he^ is, are, was, were, and been 
is a copula — meaning connective — joining the subject to that 
which is said of it in the predicate. It is never followed by the 
objective form, but alvxitjs by that form irliicli would be a subject, 

1. It is /who have the book. I have the booh. 



THE PERSONAL PROXOUX AFTER THE VERB ''BE^ 151 

•2. It was he who did me this kindness. He did me this 
hlndness. 

3. Brave men are thet/ \\\\o dare always to do the manly 
thing. They dare always to do the mardy thing. 

4. It may have been lie \\\\o brought the letter. He may 
have brought the letter. 

5. The thoughtful children were they who met the stranger 
with kindness. They met the stranger with Mndness. 

Compare the forms of the personal pronouns that follow 
parts of the verb he in the above sentences, with the personal 
pronouns that are used as subjects in the sentences in italics 
that follow each. 

Complete the following sentences by using personal pronouns : 

a. AVlio brought the humming-bird's nest ? It was . 

h. Did YOU find it ? Xo. Jesse gave it to me. and it was who 

found it. 

c. AYhat birds are called jewels in feathers ? The humming-birds, 
Miss Larcom. It is to whom some one has given that pretty name. 

d. Did you leave the door open, Avis ? It may have been . 

e. I like the poetry of Lowell. I think that it is who calls the 

oriole^s nest a hammock. 

Write five original sentences, showing the forms of personal 
pronouns that are used after these verbs. The sentences may 
be questions and answers, like those above. 

Learn the verh be. 

am, be was being been 



152 



FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



LESSON LXXIX. 
A Poem for Study and Memory. 

The Nest. 

When oaken woods with buds ave pink, 
And new-eonie birds each morning sing, 

When fickle Ma\' on Summer's brink 
Pauses, and kno\vs not A\dnch to fling, 

Whether fresh bud and bloom again, 

Or lioar-frost silvering liill and plain, 

Then from the honeysuckle gray 
The oriole ^vith experienced quest 

Twitches the fibrous bark away, 
Tlie cordai>"e of his hammock nest, 

Cheerino- his labor ^^dth a note 

Rich as the orange of his throat. 



High o'er the loud and dusty road 
The soft gray cup in safety swings. 

To brim in August with its load 

Of downy breasts and throbbing wings, 

O'er which the friendly elm tree heaves 

An emerald roof Avith sculptured ea\ es. 



A POEM FOR STUDY AND 3IEM0RY. 153 



Ob, liappy life, to soar and sway 

Above the life by mortals led, 
Singing the merry months away, 

Master, not slave, of daily bread, 
And, when the Autumn comes, to ilee 
Wherever sunshine beckons thee ! 

— James Russell Lowell. 




[James Russell Lowell, an American poet, essayist, and 
statesman, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, February 22, 
1819 ; died there August 12, 1891.] 

Note : This exquisite poem, by the American poet who sings best of 
all of the spring and its flowers and birds, may well be used even with 
very young children to lead them to appreciate what poetry is. 

Each line may be dwelt upon : The pink of the budding oaks, the 
birds that come in rapid succession, the picture of May, standing with the 



154 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

beauty of bud aud bloom in her right hand and the silver of frost in her 
left;, hesitating with which to deck the land ; the oriole twitching the 
fibrous bark for his nest, which hangs like a hammock, or like a gray cup, 
over the loud and dusty road — all these are pictures that a child will see, 
and, seeing, love and hold in memory. 

Then the art of the poet in his choice of words — silvering frost, 
twitches, cordage, liammoch-nest, ricli note, loud and dusty road, soft gray 
cup, emerald roof njitli sculptured eaves — will impress the child with the 
beauty and expressiveness of words. He will never again see the oriole^s 
nest in the swaying branch of an elm tree without all of this imagery 
coming to his mind. And when any child has gained so much, he has 
entered the delightful road of literature. 

The work of the teacher is in preparing the mind of the child for this 
appreciation — in leading him to see. But do not expect him to express it 
all — now. 

LESSON LXXX. 
"Who," "Whose," and "Whom." 

When we do not know tlie name of a person, and wisli to 
ask it, we use pronouns, thus : 

1. Who wrote '' Little Boy Blue " ? 

2. Whose book is this — " Love Songs of Childhood " ? 

3. To whom did I loan '' Captain January " ? 

L 

What kind of a sentence is each of these ? Write the name 
of the kind of sentence on the board. 



^'WHOr "WHOSE:' AND "WBOJ/r 155 

What word stands in place of the name of the unknown 
person in each sentence ? What ]3art of speech is a word that 
represents a name ? Write the name of that part of speech on 
the board. 

A pronoun tliat is particuhirly used in asking a question is 
an interrogative pron o u )i . 

What is the interrogative pronoun in the first sentence ? in 
the second sentence ? in the third sentence ? AVrite these pro- 
nouns on the board in the order in ^^hich they are found in the 
sentences. 

What is the subject of the first sentence I Supply that form 
in the following sentences: 

a. was tlie first President of the United States ? 

h. is the author of '' The Barefoot Boy " ? 

G. is your teacher ? 

11. 

What is the interrogative pronoun in the second sentence — 
^' Whose hooh is tJiis f " 

Supply this possessive form in the following sentences: 

a. birthday is observed on February 22 ? 

h. In ■ care are you when at school ? 

G, love provides you with clothes and food ? 



156 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



Ill 

In the third sentence — '' To whom did I Joan ' Captain Jami- 
ary''? " — the interrogative pronoun follows what ^^'ord ? What 
part of s]3eech is to ? What form of a pronoun follows a prepo- 
sition ? What form of the interrogative pronoun is whom ? 

Notice these sentences : 

a. Whom shall I call { I shall call whom ? 

h. Whom do you wish to see i You wish to see whom f 

c. Whom did you invite to visit us ? You invited whom 

to visit us.f 

What is the subject of shcdl call in the first sentence ? (Ob- 
serve that, following each sentence, it is re[)eated ^vith merely a 
change in the order of the words. The subject of the sentences 
can be found easily from the sentences in italics.) What word 
is the subject of do wish (or wisli) ? What word is the subject 
of did invite (or invited^ ? 

Is whom a subject in any of these sentences ? Is it a pos- 
sessive form ? Is it an objective form ? 

Vs. 

Use who as the subject of an interrogative sentence, w/iose 
as the possessive form, and whom as the objective form. 

Supply who, Avhose, or ^vhom, in the following sentences:^ 
* After completing the sentences orally, write them. 



THIS'' AND '' THAT " ; ''THESE" AND ''THOSE:' 157 



a. Of 


are you speaking ? 




h. Of - 


horse are yon speaking i 




c. To 


will you carry these flowers ? 




d. 


- is ill ? 




e. 


- is absent to-day ? 




/ 


- shall I ask to help me after school ? 




9- 


- has found the lesson hard ? 




Learn the verbs freeze and begin. 




freeze, 


freezes froze freezing 


frozen 


begin, 


begins began beginning 


begun 



LESSON LXXXl. 
"This" and "That"; "These" and "Those." 

1. Here are some birds' nests and eggs. This is the nest of 
a song sparro^v. See how he has used these woolly catkins to 
line it. This nest came from a willow shrub. 

2. That is the nest of a song sparrow, too. That was 
found in a sweetbrier bush. Those four little pink-tinted eggs 
were found in it. Perhaps some hungry cat caught the poor 
mother-bird. 

When we wish to call attention to something that is near 
us, we use this and these. 



158 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



When we wish to call attention to something that is not 
close by us, we use that and those. 

If it is one object do we use this or these? that or those? If 
we call attention to a number of objects that are not close to us, 
what word do we use ? 

Supply this^ these, that, or those, in the following sentences, 
and state whether something near us or not near us, is pointed 
out : 

a. is a song sparrow. Notice dark spot on his 

breast, and brown streaks that surround it. 

h. ^i^'^Ppy little song beginning with three high notes, 

that you may hear very early in the spring, is his song. 

G, peo^^le who are fond of birds are always glad to 

hear song. 

When the above sentences liave been completed orally, they may be 
written. 

Use this, that, these, and those in talking of flowers, houses, books, 
pets, pictures, colors, lines, surfaces, and articles on the teacher's desk. 

Learn the verbs spring avd take. 

spring, springs sprang springing sprung 
take, takes took taking taken 



A POEM FOR 3IE3fORY, AND A LESSON THEREON. 159 



LESSON LXXXII. 
A Poem for Memory, and a Lesson Thereon. 

Good-bye, Sweet Day ! 

Good-bye, sweet day, good-bye ! 
I liave so loved tliee, but I cannot hold thee. 
Departing like a dream, the shadows fold thee ; 
Slowly thy perfect beauty fades away : 
Good-bye, sweet day ! 

Good-bye, sweet day, good-bye ! 
Dear were thy golden hours of tranquil splendor ; 
Sadly thou yieldest to the evening tender 
Who wert so fair from thy first morning ray : 
Good-bye, sweet day ! 

Good-bye, sweet day, good-bye ! 

Thy glow and charm, thy smiles and tones and glances, 
Vanish at last, and solemn night advances ; 
Ah, couldst thou yet a little longer stay ! 
Good-bye, sweet day ! 

Good-bye, sweet day, good-bye ! 

All thy rich gifts my grateful heart remembers, 

The while I watch thy sunset's smouldering embers 

Die in the west beneath the twilight gray : 

Good-bye, sweet day ! 

— Celia Thaxter. 



160 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

[Celia Thaxter, an American poet, born in Portsmouth, New 
Hampshire, in 1835 ; died on Appledore Island, August 26, 1894.] 

We are saying good-bye to the day as if it were some dear visitor that 
had brought us great happiness. At last it goes away into the shadows. 
Then we think of all its beauties, all the happiness that it brought us. 
The gray night comes on. The last light of the day is like that of an 
ember — a coal that glows without flame. 

Think of a beautiful day in the spring-time. What would the weather 
be ? What does nature do then to make the world beautiful ? Think of 
the beautiful carpet of the earth, the flowers, the birds and their songs, 
the soft, balmy air. How would you like to spend such a day ? 

Think of a beautiful day in summer. Imagine the hay-fields, the 
brown barns with their 'o|5en doors — or picture the beach and its pleasures. 
How could you spend such a day pleasantly ? 

Think of a beautiful day in autumn. AVhat have largely taken the 
place of the flowers ? 

Think of a beautiful day in winter. Eemember the beauty of the 
snow and ice, the clear blue sky, the cool air, the beauty of the sunsets ; 
or recall the beauty of a snow-storm when the flakes fall like wool. 

What are the gifts that each day brings us ? Does each season have its 
own pleasures ? What gifts does nature bring to us ? What daily gifts do 
our fathers and mothers make us ? Do not think of the uncommon gifts. 
Think of the food, the clothes, and the loving care. Think of how our 
parents work to make us happy. How can we make the day pleasant for 
others ? AVhen the day is done, whom ought we to thank for the happiness 
that it has brought us ? What is the secret of making each day a happy day ? 

Note : This conversation with the children will give material for many 
written sentences or paragraphs — the answers to the questions being, so 
far as the teacher may deem wise, in writing. 



THE LION AND THE LARK. 161 



LESSON LXXXIM. 
The Lion and tlie Lark. 



In a pretty meadow Avhere tlie most beautiful iloAvers grew, 
where the bees and the butterflies hummed happily from blos- 
som to blossom, and the birds sang sweetly to their nested 
darlino's and to the wide world, a Lark had built her nest in a 
thick tuft of grass. She made the outside of dry, wiry grass, 
but she chose the finest and softest blades for its lining. She 
covered the nest carefully, and built a little hidden way to it 
so that no one might find the five ^vhite eggs therein that were 
her treasures. 

One day when the ^\^ white eggs had changed to fixQ very 
little larks, a proud old Lion, ^vho had a home in the neighbor- 
ing wood, came forth to \valk in the meadow that belonged to 
the flowers and the bees and the butterflies and the birds. He 
walked very haughtily, and shook his great mane and waved 
his slender tail, as if to say, '' Behold, the King of the Beasts is 
taking his morning walk ! '' As he walked on, the Lark saw 
that her nest la}- in his path, and that he ^vas about to tread 
upon it. '' O mighty Lion," said the Lark in her sweetest tones, 
"you are very large and strong. Have pity on a weak bird and 
her helpless nestlings, and spare my precious nest." But the 
Lion replied haughtily, " Your nest is in my way. Wh\^ should 



11 



162 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

I step aside for you ? " And lie trod Avitli bis great paw upon 
the nest, and crushed it with the little birds within it. 

Then the poor Lark, crying piteously, flew up and up to- 
wards heaven. ''Dear God," she cried, " ^v\\o made the meadow 
and the sunshine, and taught me to love and protect my little 
ones, behold how feeble is my strength against the Lion's. See 
how he has abused the power and strength that you have given 
him. I cry to you to punish him." 

The cries of the poor Lark were carried far and wide by the 
pitying winds, and the birds and the insects gathered to com- 
fort her. Among them all came the Falcon and a swarm of 
gnats. The Falcon said to the poor Lark, '' You cry for punish- 
ment upon the Lion who has misused his strength. He shall be 
punished. He shall learn that the power of the humblest 
creatures is greater than his own." Then he said to the gnats, 
" Seek the Lion in his lair, and torment him. Bite him about 
the eyes until you blind him. Then I Avill swoop down and 
tear his flesh with my talons." The guats gladly obeyed the 
Falcon, and the Lion was so tormented by the gnats and so torn 
by the Falcon that he died. 

It is a beautiful thing to be strong, but we must use our 
strength to help those who are weaker than ourselves, and not 
to ill-treat them. 

Note : Use this story for a conversation lesson on kindness and help- 
fulness, for a review of grammatical elements and principles, and for 
reproduction. 



A LESSON FROM A PICTURE. 



163 



LESSON LXXXIV. 
A Lessou from a Picture. 




The Capitol, and the Flag. 

In the city of Washington — a city named for the first Presi- 
dent of the United States — there is one of the most beautiful 
buildings in the world, the most beautiful to every American 
boy and girl. It is the Capitol. Above the magnificent, 
rounded dome there stands the figure of the Goddess of Lib- 



164 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 

erty, as if keeping watcli and ward to see that no harm comes 
to the Republic. Within this great building men from all 
parts of the country assemble to consider how the interests of 
the Republic may be preserved, and she become even more hon- 
orable and prosperous than she is now. 

Above this building, too, so magnihcent and so proud, floats 
the same beautiful flag that waves above almost every school- 
house in the land — the glorious stars and stripes, the most beau- 
tiful flag in the world to every American girl and bo} . When- 
ever you see this flag you nuist remend)er that it stands for the 
whole country, for its strength, its battles and struggles, its 
protection, its pi'ospei'ity, its honor. 

" Sea flghts and land flghts, grim and great, 
Fought to make and save the state ; 
Weary marches and sinking ships ; 
Cheers of victoiT on dying lips; 

" Days of plenty and days of peace; 
March of a strong land's swift increase ; 
Equal Justice, right, and la\v. 
Stately lionor and reverent awe." 

The flag means freedom and protection. It means that you 
are under the protection of a great and might}' nation, and it 
also means that the honor and prosperity of the nation depend 
upon you. It represents your country. It is your flag. Its 



A LUSSOX FROM A PIC TUBE. 



165 



blue is like the blue of heaven, and the stars that are set therein 
lead onward and u})\v'ar(L Its white is the color of honoi* and 
uprightness, and its red is the color of sympathy and jn'otec- 
tion. 

So, reverence flie flag: profecf ifx Itonor ; and wlien you 
IjJedge aUegiavce to it, pledge aho to its greater glortj a life of 
lionor aial lielpfuhiess. 



I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag and the Republic for 

WHIG FT IT stands ! OnE NaTI^N, IxDIAaSIELE, AND WITH LiBERTY 

AND Justice for all. 




106 FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



Written Exercise. 



Write ill complete senteuces the answers to the foHowirig 
questions, and then combine those of each set into a paragrapli. 
[It is well to liave the flag so placed that tlie children may see 
it, at least while answering the second set of questions.] 

I. 
The Capitol. 

1. What beautiful building is there in the city of Wash- 
ington i 

2. What figure stands above the dome I 
8. What does the fio:ure seem to do ? 

4. What is done in this beautiful building ? 

5. Why is it the most beautiful building in the world to 
every American? 

IL 

Tlie Flag^. 

1. Wliat are tlie colors of the flag? 

9 



How many stripes has the flag? 
8. What do they represent ? 

4. How many stars has the flag ? 

5. What does each stai* represent ? 



6. When is a new star added to the flag? 



.4 SELECTION FOR REMEMBRANCE. 161 



TTL 

What the Flaj> Represents. 

1. Where do yon most often see the flag? 

'2. Why does it wave there ? 

8. What shonhl make yon love the flas: ? 

4. How can tjofi honor the flag? 

5o AVrite the pledge of allegiance to the fllag. 

LESSON LXXXV. 
A Selection for Remembrance. 

Stanzas from " At School-Close." 



%-i* 




The end has come, as come it ninst 



To all thinscs ; in these sweet Jnne days 
The teacher and the scholar trnst 
Their parting feet to separate ways. 



168 



FIRST STEPS IN ENGLISH. 



Her little realm tlie teaclier leaves, 
Slie breaks lier Avaiul of power apart, 

While, for your love and trust, she gives 
The warm thanks of a grateful heart. 

Across the distance of the years 

She sends her God-speed back t(^ you ; 

She has no thought of doubts or fears, 
Be but yourselves — be pure, be true, 

And prompt in duty ; heed the deep, 

Low voice of conscience ; through the ill 

And discord i-ound about you, kee}) 
Your faith in human nature still. 

—John Greenleaf Whittier. 

[John Greenleaf Whittier, an American poet, born in Haver- 
hill, Massachusetts, December 17, 1807 ; died in Hampton Falls, 
New Hampshire, September 7, 1892.] 




INDEX, 



A, 77. 
Abbreviations, 40. 

defined, 40. 

of days, 40. 

of months, 42. 

of titles, 48. 
Action words (see Verbs), 68, 69. 
Addressing of envelopes, 98. 
Adjectives, 70, 71. 

defined, 71. 

comparison of, 126-132. 
reg-ular, 126-131. 
irregular, 132. 
Adverbs, 133-135. 

defined, 134. 

comparison of, 135, 
An, 77. 

Answers to questions, 26. 
Apostrophe, The, 62. 

in contractions, 62. 
Articles, 77. 
Authors : 

Ethel Lynn Beers, 71. 

Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 37. 

Robert Browning, 85. 

William Cullen Bryant, 60. 

Helen Hunt Jackson, 43. 

Charles Kingsley, 76. 

Henry Wads worth Longfellow, 
144. 

James Russell Lowell, 152. 

Caroline A. Mason, 84, 



E. Nesbit, 78, 123. 
Florence Percy, 86. 
Frank Dempster Sherman, 55. 
Celia Leighton Thaxter, 159. 
xAdeline D. T. Whitney, 150. 
John Green leaf Whittier, 167. 

Be^ Forms of pronoun after, 150-151. 

Capital letters, use of in beginning di- 
rect quotations, 116. 
each line of poetry, 25, 
proper nouus, 33, 40. 
sentences, 21, 24, 29, 30. 
names of Deity, 25. 
titles, 122. 
pronoun 7, 74. 
Colon, 94. 

Comma, The, 19, 26, 27, 41. 
Command. (See Imperative sentence.) 
Common nouns, 34. 

defined, 34. 
Conjunctions, 139-141. 

defined, 140. 
Contractions, 

the apostrophe in, 62. 
of not with verbs, 62. 
other, 64. 

Dates, 45. 

how to read, 45. 
how to write, 45. 



INDEX. 



171 



Days of the week, 39. 

abbreviations of, 40. 
Declarative sentence, 21. 

defined, 21. 
Dictation, Sentences for, 27, 40, 65, 75. 
Do, 83. 

Emotion words. (*S'ee Interjections.) 
Envelopes, 98-99. 

the addressing of, 98. 
Exclamation point, 19. 

where used, 30. 
Exclamatory sentence, 29-30. 

defined, 30. 

Griven (Christian) names, 46. 

How to write, 

addresses, 98. 

dates, 45. 

initials, 47. 

names of persons, 46. 

quotations, 116-118. 

titles, 47, 121. 
Hyphen, 40. 

Imperative sentence, 28-29. 
Individual names (Proper nouns), 32, 

33. 
Initials, 47. 

how written, 47. 
Interjection, The, 142-143. 

defined, 142. 
Interrogation point, 19. 

where used, 24. 
Interrogative sentence, 23. 
Is and are, 56. 

Language, 8, 9. 
use of, 18. 



Lessons for Conversation, 19, 22, 38, 

161. 
Lessons from Pictures, 34, 67, 101, 108, 

163. 
Letter, A, 89, 92. 

heading of, 92. 

salutation of, 93, 94. 

close of, 95, 96. 

form of, 97. 
Letters, Two business, 110-112. 

Middle names, 46. 
Months, The, 41. 

names of, 42. 

abbreviations of, 42. 

Names, 

given or Christian, 46. 

middle, 46. 

surname, 46. 

of days, 40. 

of months, 42. 

of persons, 46. 
Not., contracted with verbs, 61, 62. 
Nouns, 32. 

defined, 32. 

common, 34. 

proper, 33, 40, 41. 

formation of plurals of, 50, 102- 
105. 

formation of possessive forms of, 
113, 114. 
Number, 49, 50. 

defined, 50. 

singular, 50. 

plural, 50. 

Objective forms, 

of personal pronouns, 149. 
li^ho, 156. 



172 



INDEX. 



Participle, Present, 82. 




The Nest, James Russell Lowell, 


Parts of speech, 31. 




152. 


adjectives, 70-71. 




The Song of the Seeds in the 


(articles), 77. 




Spring, E. Nesbit, 123. 


adverbs, 133-135. 




To the Fringed Gentian, William 


conjunctions, 139-141. 




Cullen Bryant, 60. 


interjections, 142-143. 




Whichever Way the Wind Doth 


nouns, 32. 




Blow, Caroline A. Mason, 84. 


prepositions, 136-138. 




Who paints with gold the road- 


pronouns, 72. 




side weeds, A. L. B., 25. 


verbs, 69. 




The year's at the spring, Robert 


Period, The, 19. 




Browning-, 85. 


where used, 21, 29, 40, 


47. 


Possessive forms, 


Plural number, 50. 




of nouns, 113, 114, 115. 


defined, 50. 




personal pronouns, 146-148. 


Plurals ending- in s, 50. 




loho, 155. 


es, 102. 




Predicate, 51-54. 


ies, 105, 


106. 


defined, 52. 


ves, 103 




important word of, 53. 


without s, 103. 




Prepositions, 136-138. 


Poems : 




defined, 136. 


A' Bird 's Nest. Florence Percy, 


Principal parts of verb, 82. 


86. 




Pronouns, 72-73. 



A Child's Tito light of God, Eliza- 
beth Barrett Browning', 37. 

At School-Close, John Greenleaf 
Whittier, 167. 

A Song, Charles Kingsley, 76. 

Child 's Song in SjJring. E. Nesbit, 
78. 

Daisies, Frank Dempster Sher- 
man, 55. 

Daybreak, Henry Wads worth 
Longfellow, 144. 

Good-Bye, Sweet Day! Celia 
Leig-hton Thaxter, 159. 

October's Bright Blue Weather, 
Helen Hunt Jackson, 43. 

Santa Claus, Anon.. 120. 



defined, 72. 
interrogative, 155. 
personal, 72, 73. 

objective form of, 149-150. 

possessive form of, 146-148. 
Proper nouns, 32, 33. 
defined, 33. 

Questions. (See Interrogative sen- 
tence.) 
answers to, 26. 
Quotations, 116-118. 
direct, 116. 

defined, 116. 

divided, 119. 

how to write, 116-117. 



IXDEX. 



173 



Quotation marks, 117. 122. 
inclosing quotations. 117. 
titles, 122. 

Relation words. (See Prepositions.) 

Sentence. The. 

defined. 18. 

declarative. 21. 

interrogative, 23. 

imperative. 28 

exclamatory. 29. 30. 

two parts of. 52. 
Statement. The. (See Declarative sen- 
tence.) 
Stories for reproduction. 63. 79. 12-A. 
Subject. 51. 54. 

defined. 52. 

important word of. 53. 



Surnames, -i'i. 

Tense. 

present, 82. 

past. 82. 
The. 77. 

These and those. 157-158. 
This and that. 157-158. 
Titles. 47. 48. 121. 

how to write. 48. 121, 

Verb. 69. 

principal parts of, 82. 
some forms of, 81. 
TTas and were. 57. 

Who, whose, and v:hom. 154-157. 
Written exercises throughout the 
book. 



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